Critical Role’s Dungeons & Dragons Competition Daggerheart Reveals Release Date

Critical Role is easily one of the biggest names in Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop role-playing. The studio is helmed by dungeon master Matthew Mercer and made its success with its first campaign following Vox Machina. This was turned into three animated seasons on Prime Video titled The Legends of Vox Machina. Critical Role followed this up with another full-length campaign starring the Mighty Nein, also set to be adapted to an animated series by Amazon. And finally, the third campaign, following Bells Hells, just wrapped up, marking an end to yet another journey for Critical Role.

Daggerheart, the studio’s next project, partnered with Darrington Press, departs from the tried and true Dungeons & Dragons that made the group famous but maintains the same creative spirit and fantasy element. Fans have been eager to get their hands on Daggerheart since its announcement, and a concrete date has finally been set for when Daggerheart will be released.

Daggerheart previously went into open beta, which led to Critical Role announcing a release window of Spring 2025. Pre-orders have been live for some time, including a Standard Edition and Limited Edition of Daggerheart. However, Critical Role and Darrington Press have now revealed the official Daggerheart release date.

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Daggerheart will have a rolling launch, with those who pre-order directly from Darrington Press, Darrington Press Guild stores, and select local game stores receiving their copies on May 20th. The digital version of Daggerherat will also be available May 20th through digital stores like Demiplane and DriveThruRPG. Daggerheart will be available elsewhere on June 3rd.

Daggerheart shares many similarities with Dungeons & Dragons, with a few key differences. TTRPG players and Critical Role fans have been eager to enjoy Daggerheart, with a great deal participating in the open beta. Those who missed out can have a chance to play Daggerheart at various conventions, including GAMA Expo, Gen Con, UK Games Expo, PAX Unplugged, and more.

There are limited supplies for the Daggerheart Limited Edition, so those looking to get the most robust version of the core set should pre-order while supplies last. Pre-ordering your copy of Daggerheart ensures you receive it on May 20th or as close to the release date as possible. It is unclear if Daggerheart will be available for purchase from Darrington Press after this time, or if these orders will be shipped on the June 3rd date.

Daggerheart takes a narrative-first approach to role-playing, even allowing the dungeon master to take on a more active role. The Duality Dice is another major change to how Daggerheart plays compared to D&D. Other changes include various ancestries and classes, but Dungeons & Dragons players will find plenty familiar with the new system. 

Are you excited about Daggerheart and did you already pre-order your copy? Let us know in the comments along with whether you’ll be a game master or player, as well as what ancestry or class you plan to create for your first character!