The developers of two nominated games for the Game Awards 2025 are making a statement for camaraderie among developers despite direct competition, which the creators of a nominated indie debut do not want to leave unanswered.
Which game was praised by the creators of Expedition 33? During the acceptance speech for “Best Storytelling” by Guillaume Broche, the CEO of Sandfall Interactive, the head of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took the opportunity on stage to praise a specific game: “Play Dispatch, it’s very, very cool and has a really good story.”
Dispatch is a superhero game that, since its release on October 22, 2025, has already received an extremely positive rating (97% of the 106,856 user reviews are positive) on Steam. The gameplay is reminiscent of that of the famous Telltale Games, features star voices from Critical Role and Breaking Bad in its repertoire, and has convinced MeinMMO editor Niko already after the first episodes: A new superhero game on Steam avoids the biggest weakness of Marvel and The Boys and could offer one of the best stories of the year.
Expedition 33 and Dispatch are both nominated for the category “Best Indie Debut” at this year’s Game Awards 2025, which technically makes them direct competitors. Therefore, the CEO’s praise is an even more relevant gesture than initially suspected. The overwhelmed developers of Dispatch are also aware of this.
Here you can see the trailer for Dispatch by AdHoc Studios:
A Sign of Camaraderie Instead of Competition
How do the developers of Dispatch react to this shoutout? Creative Director Dennis Lenart and Narrative Designer Polly Raguimov of AdHoc Studios share in an interview with PCGamesN how much the gesture from Broche means to them, but also how overwhelmed they were at first. Because for them, this praise came out of the blue:
“One thinks – wait a minute, what? Oh, wow, crazy,” Lenart explains, but Raguimov was also very touched. The fact that the CEO of Expedition 33 praised especially the story of Dispatch made the Narrative Designer particularly proud: “Taking time in his own speech to present another game is something great, especially in this category. What [Broche] said about the story I found really very cool.”
What well-known comparison do the developers make for this feeling? The two developers explain that such feedback, especially from well-known and successful industry peers, holds great value for them. However, it is not just a compliment, but evokes a sense of community that many people might recognize:
I believe there is a kind of camaraderie among developers who share the same opinion about how important stories are in games. It feels kind of like living in a city and when you skate and then meet someone who also skates, you immediately become friends. Or when you find people in your youth who like the same music as you, an instant connection is formed.
– Dennis Lenart, Creative Director at AdHoc Studios (Source: PCGamesN)
The two developers seemingly do not think much of one-sided praise and also express their appreciative words towards the game from Sandfall Interactive.
“I have never seen a game that made me cry that quickly,” admits the Narrative Designer, “That was impressive.”
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 and Dispatch are both nominated games for the Game Awards 2025 and are competing for the title of best indie debut. However, in this year’s nominations, the former stands out as a clear frontrunner, having already set a new record even before the results of the awards: The Game Awards announced their nominations, and Expedition 33 has already set a record.
