Critical Role’s business team talks Daggerheart, theatrical screenings and strategy
Jul 10, 2025 – [[read-time]] minute read
What started as a casual Dungeons & Dragons game among friends has defied all expectations. Critical Role is celebrating its tenth anniversary on YouTube, evolving from livestreamed game nights into a roughly 70-person multimedia powerhouse.
This month, Critical Role is bringing four live show rebroadcasts to 800 movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada. They also recently launched their highly anticipated tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), Daggerheart, alongside a new mini-series, Age of Umbra.
With so much happening in the world of TTRPGs, I was thrilled to sit down with Critical Role’s Chief Operating Officer Ed Lopez and SVP of Business Development Ben Van Der Fluit to discuss the journey, their business strategy, and what's next for the beloved brand.
You've both been embedded in the team from the beginning. What did your role look like then versus now?
Ed: My origin story is that I went to do some product development for Legendary. To work on Critical Role, I obviously had to watch the content. I’ll be honest, when I first saw it, I didn’t understand it. Then I realized it felt a lot like Shakespeare — theater of the mind. As a huge Shakespeare buff, I related to it and realized how special it was. I thought, "Maybe this can be a business, a big multimedia company." I worked with the cast, expressed my vision, and they trusted it. After that, it was a million miles an hour: opening a new studio, producing content, the Kickstarter, then the animated series, merch, and licensing.
Ben: When we moved independent, Ed and I helped the founders get this thing up and running. It was a classic startup vibe, building around a pop-up table and chairs. It's crazy to look back because we’re now a company of roughly 70 people working out of that same space. My role then was to keep the lights on and make sure we had cash in the bank to pay people. Now, it's about making sure we’re thinking responsibly about how we invest in the business.
What do you think is the most significant factor to Critical Role's sustained growth and ability to still be relevant after ten years?
Ed: I always use the word "integrity," but "authenticity" is probably better. What you see is what you get with them and the content. It’s authentic within the business, with people like us who aren't in front of the camera, as well as the founders and the community. We speak that language well, and it’s interwoven in our stories. It’s easy for someone to watch and relate to the characters or storylines.
Ben: Ed’s right. It started with the cast and the show. It’s not "casted"—it’s a group of friends playing D&D. It didn't start with a plan to put it on the internet. It started with them just being friends, so there’s no acting element. We’ve just done our best to maintain that authenticity as we do more things as a business. From an audience perspective, that’s what people latch onto from the jump: friends having fun telling stories together. That continues to resonate.
When you're looking at options for scaling, like Daggerheart and your screenings, how do you decide what to pursue knowing you want to maintain that authenticity?
Ed: We go where the community asks us to go. We saw people asking for live shows, so we did live shows. We don’t have to guess to make certain decisions; the community tells us, and we look at it and say, "Okay, this is a good idea. This will resonate." I don't think anything we’ve done is truly an original idea. It’s about identifying what people are talking about in our space, what they’re passionate about, and seeing how we can bring the Critical Role ethos into that space and do something cool. Whether it's screenings or Daggerheart. How many times do you hear people say, "I really wish there were people I can relate to in an RPG game"? We hear that and think, "We should create something that resonates with our community." It’s not a secret, but it’s not something many businesses do.
“ It didn't start with a plan to put it on the internet. It started with them just being friends, so there’s no acting element. We’ve just done our best to maintain that authenticity as we do more things as a business.”
The upcoming theatrical screenings are a huge step for your team. Where did this decision come from?
Ben: We’ve done some screenings in the past and saw huge success there, so with all the live shows that are happening through the rest of the year, this felt like a great time to really double down. To think that we'll be now in over 800 theaters and screens across the US and Canada is insane. We're really amped to see all the photos and have the Critters come together. That's what it's truly about: the shared experience of gathering in a theater, in cosplay, to take photos, laugh, and even cry together.
Where do you see fandom fitting into the broader entertainment landscape?
Ed: We're witnessing a significant shift in Hollywood generally. When you look at the influential landscape and the audience and eyeballs that certain figures now command, fandom has become a very personal thing. The reach and activations of today's influencers rival what A-list celebrities used to do in old Hollywood. There needs to be a clear acknowledgment of the community.
A traditional celebrity like Brad Pitt generates immense discussion, but they don't engage directly with their audience. However, there's a new way of expressing fandom and entertainment emerging, one where you can have a conversation with your fans and be more accessible. That's where the industry is heading. This shift is really cool, especially when you consider how traditional media greenlights projects. It feels like gatekeeping at times. It's empowering to see people create whatever they want, share it on digital platforms, and get instant feedback.
That idea of gatekeeping is really interesting and it’s something YouTube is constantly looking to reduce. With entertainment being dominated by bigger players and traditional media, what benefits have you seen from doing things more grassroots?
Ed: It's about taking the time to validate what you’re doing through feedback from the people you’re trying to serve. Ben and I both come from companies funded by VCs that took the "grow really fast" approach. Early on, we weren’t interested in that for Critical Role. We wanted to create something cool. When you don't have the money, you have to be innovative and do grassroots things. We often say internally, "You have to earn the right to move on to the next thing." We do things methodically, at our own pace. It's served us well, and the brand takes its own shape because of it. I can't imagine doing Critical Role any other way.
“ When we created Daggerheart, it had to be narrative-focused, bring in a new audience, and appeal to people who never watched Critical Role. We gambled on that, and it turns out we were right.”
D&D has been your bread and butter. How did you know it was time to try something new like Daggerheart?
Ed: We always thought about what a game would look like if it was more narrative-focused and less about combat. It was always in the back of our minds and eventually, we started bringing in the right people and developing it. From a business standpoint, I wanted to grow the total addressable market of RPG players, not go after someone else’s marketshare. We were very focused on making onboarding easy and less imposing, because we feel many people want to role-play but feel overwhelmed with materials just to get started. We tried to address those issues. So, when we created Daggerheart, it had to be narrative-focused, bring in a new audience, and appeal to people who never watched Critical Role. We gambled on that, and it turns out we were right.
How does Daggerheart fit into Critical Role's long-term business strategy? Are there plans for a long term campaign? Is it meant to be a more complimentary product?
Ed: It’s a little bit of both. We’re of course going to tell stories using Daggerheart like we’re doing right now with Age of Umbra, but we’re more excited with the idea of inspiring people to do their own storytelling. From a business perspective, that’s how we scale. We told our own stories playing D&D and our dream is to find the next Critical Role who hopefully is playing Daggerheart. We’re going to continue supporting the game with more published products and video content, but I really hope we find other content creators embracing Daggerheart.
Excited to learn more? Experience Critical Role's magic for yourself by finding a theatrical screening near you, and explore their library of content on the Critical Role YouTube channel.