DISPATCH COSPLAY SUMMER CONTEST
July 21 - August 21, 2026
That’s it, we’ve had enough. There’s just TOO MANY good cosplays out there, and it’s high time we harnessed all of the absolutely insane creativity we’ve seen.
Enter: The Dispatch Cosplay Summer Contest!
ABOUT THE CONTEST
Whether you’re strutting your best 3D printed Sonar around the convention floor or lovingly crafting Coupé’s daggers on your bedroom floor, we want to see it! From now until August 21, you could win one of 12 prizes by entering your Dispatch cosplays to AdHoc Studio.
THE PRIZES
One grand prize winner takes home an XBOX Series X plus the full prize package below.
One runner-up takes home an XBOX Series S plus the full prize package below.
Ten more cosplayers get the prize package:
A Dispatch poster
An SDN mug
A Dispatch baseball hat
A Dispatch Deluxe Edition XBOX game code
And 15 runner-ups will get featured in our (temporarily) blinding community spotlight.
Have a group cosplay? List every person in your group submission so we can credit the whole crew. One set of prizes ships to one address, so you’ll have to sort out the custody arrangement among yourselves.
HOW TO ENTER
Cosplay any Dispatch character. Solo or squad. We’re not here to audit your craft budget.
Drop your entry through any of these:
Email: contest@adhocla.com with #dispatchsummer in the subject line
Discord: post to the #fanart channel and include the #dispatchsummer
Social: go public on X, Instagram, or Facebook with #dispatchsummer
Winners will be contacted via the platform they post to, so be sure to keep your DMs open!
One entry per person, per day. No purchase necessary to enter or win. See the Official Rules for the full breakdown: eligibility, deadlines, prize values and odds, selection, and every other term. Entering means you agree to be bound by them.
HOW WE'RE JUDGING
Our panel scores every entry on four things:
Creativity & Originality (40%) - What's the angle? What makes it feel like you made it with your own bare hands?
Emotional Impact (30%) - Does it do something to us? Wholesome or devastating, we'll take both.
Artistic Quality (20%) - Craft, execution, the whole picture.
Relevance to the Theme (10%) - While we love a good mash-up, we’re sticking with Dispatch characters for this one.
Contest closes August 21 at 11:59pm PT. Winners will be announced 3-4 weeks after.
Make us proud, Dispatchers.
Dispatch Cosplay Summer Contest FAQ
Entering
Who can enter? Anyone 18 or older who's a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C., Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Belgium, or Luxembourg.
I'm under 18. Can I enter? Not this time. You must be 18 or older at the time of entry.
How many times can I enter? One entry per person, per day, every day of the contest if you want. There's no cap on your total entries. But posting the same cosplay through multiple platforms counts as one entry, not three.
Can I enter a cosplay that was entered in the 2025 - 2026 Fan Art Contest? Absolutely. Old entries are fair game as long as they're your own work, not AI-generated, did not win a prize during that contest, and is submitted using the tag and hashtag of this contest, during the contest period.
Does my account need to be public? Yes. If you enter through Discord or social, your post needs to come from a public profile, or we can't see it and neither can anyone else.
Does my costume have to be handmade? Make it, buy it, thrift it, we're not checking receipts. Just know that Creativity & Originality is 40% of your score, so the more of you in the entry, the better.
Can I use AI to modify my entry? No. AI-generated entries are not eligible.
Can other people appear in my entry? Keep it to you and your cosplay crew. Don't include bystanders or anyone who hasn't signed off on being in your entry.
Can I change my mind and withdraw? Yes. Email us at contest@adhocla.com and we'll pull your entry.
Judging & Winning
Who's judging? An expert panel of at least two qualified judges with backgrounds in art and design, including at least one independent judge who doesn't work for us.
Do likes and shares count? No. This is a skill-based contest judged entirely by the panel.
What happens if there's a tie? Ties are broken in order: highest Creativity & Originality score, then Emotional Impact, then Artistic Quality, then Relevance to Theme.
When are winners picked? On or about 15 days after the contest closes on August 21 at 11:59pm PT.
How will I know if I won? We'll contact you wherever you enter: reply email for email entries, DM for Discord and social entries. Keep those DMs open. You'll have 3 days to respond to the notification, or the prize may go to an alternate winner.
Can I appeal the results? No. The panel's decisions are final and binding, and we won't enter into correspondence about the judging.
We entered as a group. Who gets the prize? One set of prizes ships to one address. We'll credit everyone listed in the submission, but the custody arrangement is between you and your squad.
How do I know a winner DM is really from you? We'll only contact you through the platform you entered on, and we will never ask for payment to claim a prize. If something smells phishy, email contest@adhocla.com to verify before you click anything.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. See the Official Rules for complete terms.