Matt Mercer Reveals Critical Role’s Future Focus Beyond the Series

A little over a decade after a group of voice actors launched their first Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Critical Role has amassed nearly 400 episodes, two animated series, its own tabletop RPG, and a variety of spin-off novels and comics. With the highly anticipated Campaign 4 now in progress, featuring a larger cast than ever before and streamed on their own media app, Beacon, many are wondering: What’s next for Critical Role?

In a recent interview, co-founder Matthew Mercer, alongside Campaign 4’s Dungeon Master, tackled this question with a refreshingly humble response.

“I got nothing,” he admits. “Maybe I’m just not ambitious enough, and I’m okay with that. But I did it all, man. I’ve already far exceeded anything I thought I would ever be able to accomplish in my life, so everything else is gravy.”

While this may come off as modesty from someone who has transformed a niche hobby into a multimedia powerhouse, Mercer’s contentment with his achievements doesn’t mean he’s resting on his laurels. He emphasizes that his focus for the future of Critical Role is about uplifting others.

“Now, the responsibility of this platform, to me, is how best can I enable it to show off other people’s passions and other people’s stuff,” Mercer explains.

He has previously mentioned the idea of “passing the torch” to new talent after Campaign 4 wraps up. This perspective sheds light on his decision to step back from his usual DM role and join the group as a player, suggesting it’s driven by more than just “DM burnout.”

Recent developments indicate that Critical Role is eager to share the spotlight they’ve cultivated. Mercer has already participated as a player in Acquisitions Incorporated’s first Daggerheart show, which debuted at PAX Unplugged 2025 and was later featured on Beacon. Acquisitions Incorporated is one of the longest-running and most recognized actual play shows, credited alongside Critical Role for bringing D&D to a broader audience. Notably, Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, long-time DMs for Acquisitions Incorporated, now work full-time for Darrington Press, Critical Role’s publishing division, after departing from Wizards of the Coast last year.

But that’s just the beginning. Critical Role’s latest collaboration has brought Viva La Dirt League to Beacon, where the New Zealand sketch-comedy group showcases their new Daggerheart actual-play adventure show, Daggerheart: Azerim. While Critical Role has chosen to stick with D&D for its main campaign—a decision that has sparked some debate—they are actively promoting Daggerheart in various ways. If they can’t play it themselves, they’re ensuring others can, bringing it all together on their platform.

Critical Role is also keen to highlight other tabletop actual-play shows, such as Re-Slayer’s Take (playing D&D) and Candela Obscura (featuring the Darrington Press game of the same name), to its audience via Beacon.

Despite expectations for Critical Role to continually chase growth, Mercer’s commitment to sharing his success is commendable. As Mulligan aptly puts it in the interview, “It is a rare thing to both be as gifted and prolific as you are, and to truly embody and exemplify celebrating everybody around you.”

There’s more than mere generosity behind Mercer’s sentiments and Critical Role’s recent initiatives. They recognize that in a digital landscape, competition should be embraced rather than feared. Sharing the platform enhances visibility for everyone involved, attracting new audiences to each show and product.

“It’s very dangerous to put all your stakes on a platform you don’t control,” Mercer warns, referencing Twitch and YouTube.

Critical Role’s Beacon serves as a platform that empowers creatives, and now they aim to extend that opportunity to others. Instead of simply passing the torch, they’re igniting new ones.