While fans of Critical Role already have the series' third campaign and an Amazon animated show to look forward to, it seems the brand is continuing to expand with a video game in early development.
As reported by Variety, the ever-growing success of Critical Role is now leading to even further opportunities for the show, including a tie-in video game. The information came from Matthew Cohen, an agent at Creative Artists Agency, who said that the plan to bring the fantasy series to the video game genre is in early talks with various publishers and studios. Cohen said, "We have to be very particular about what that means and who the partners are."
Few details about the initial concepts for the game were shared, with one of Critical Role's cast members Liam O’Brien, who played Vax'ildan in Campaign One and Caleb in Campaign Two, suggesting it would be a while before anything was released. He said that video games "takes forever, especially if you want it to be something great."
O'Brien has worked as a voice actor on multiple video games during his career, including roles such as Asura in Asura's Wrath. He also has experience working with motion capture, and as a voice director. O'Brien has voiced his own Vax in video games: The Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire DLC pack included characters from Critical Role's Vox Machina that were all voiced by the rest of the cast.
Critical Role's other cast members are no strangers to video games either, having all worked as voice actors during their careers. Stars Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson won BAFTAs for their roles in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, for which both actors provided voice and motion capture performances.
The move into video games is no surprise, given the immense growth of the Critical Role brand since it debuted in 2015. The series is now one of the most popular pieces of streaming content on Twitch, and is credited with a major resurgence in the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game. The role playing dice game also has plenty of prior crossovers with the video game genre. Fans can experience the world of Dungeon & Dragons in an MMORPG format with the likes of Neverwinter by Cryptic Studios. Baldur's Gate III is also set for its full release in 2022, a game comprised of assets licensed by Wizards of the Coast.
Critical Role will return for Campaign Three on Oct. 21 at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST, with special theatrical screenings at select Cinemark locations.
Source: Variety