Critical Role Video Game in Works

By Christian Hoffer

Critical Role is expanding into new territory - the world of video games. Variety recently featured Critical Role's growing digital empire, which is centered around a weekly Dungeons & Dragons campaign played by a group of voice actors. As Critical Role has expanded, so has its opportunity to expand into other genres - the franchise currently has an adult animated television series set to be released on Amazon Prime in early 2022 and is also about to release a young adult novel in the coming weeks. However, Variety's feature contained one surprising bit of news - the company is planning on featuring its characters in a video game. 

Per the report, talks between Critical Role and various game studios and publishers are in the early stages. And in what may be one of its biggest upcoming brand extensions, a Critical Role video game is in the works. "We have to be very particular about what that means and who the partners are," notes Matthew Cohen, an agent in CAA's games department who works with Critical Role, in the report.

Cast member Liam O'Brien also noted not to expect a game soon, stating that developing a video game "takes forever, especially if you want it to be something great."

Given the background of Critical Role's cast, a video game isn't exactly surprising. All of the cast members have voice acted in at least a few popular video games, with Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson standing out as two of the more prolific video game voice actors associated with the show. And give Critical Role's focus on expanding the fictional world of Exandria that the D&D games are set in, a Critical Role video game seems like a good way to appeal to an audience who might not understand the draw of watching a weekly 4-hour D&D game on Twitch. 

In the meantime, Critical Role continues to grow its partnership with Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. A new full-length campaign adventure set in Exandria titled Call of the Netherdeep will be released later this year. 

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