AdHoc Studio Join Forces With Critical Role For Exandria Game

Critical Role and AdHoc Studio logos superimposed onto a faded map of fantasy world Exandria.

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AdHoc Studio, developer of the upcoming superhero workplace comedy game Dispatch, have announced a partnership with the TTRPG hotshots over at Critical Role. This deal appears to be a lucrative, two-way street that brings new productions to both entities.

Roll For Initiatives

We first heard whispers of the possibility of a Critical Role video game back in 2021. Back then, a Variety article covering the success of the at-home table-top campaign turned worldwide phenomenon mentioned the group’s forays into other media, including an ‘in the works’ video game. At the time, Critical Role cast member Liam O’Brien admitted that doing a video game successfully takes a lot of time, and nothing has materialised since. However, after an initial meeting in October 2024 between the AdHoc Studio and Critical Role CEOs, it seems that developments are becoming more concrete.

Screenshot from Dispatch. Two characters having a stand-off, with a third character stood between awkwardly. — “So … what’s the goss’?”

Enter AdHoc‘s July 21st announcement. The two companies will be joining forces on several projects, most notably a game set in the world of Exandria, the fantasy world where the campaigns of Critical Role take place. It’s early days at the moment, but Travis Willingham (CR CEO) said it will be “brand-new in terms of storyline”, but added “you are going to want to see your favourite characters”. Given that the conversations with AdHoc around a CR game started after Willingham was impressed with an early demo of Dispatch — in which he voices a character, as do CR members Matthew Mercer and Laura Bailey — we can assume the Exandria game could also be a narrative adventure. Certainly something for Critters to look forward to in the next couple of years.

But that’s not all

On the other side of the business equation, Critical Role will be helping AdHoc with the release of Dispatch later this year. While there’s no solid indication of how this help may look, the Variety article announcing the partnership may hold some clues. In it, author Todd Spangler notes the partnership will yield “future brand developments” including “[an] animated series, merchandise, and tabletop gaming”. Given that list, and as a pure guess, maybe we’ll see a one-shot campaign based on Dispatch from the Critical Role team to tie-in with the launch of Dispatch. An animated series is a no-brainer if Dispatch lands well, given the already high-quality animations seen in the game.

We’ve still got no confirmed date for Dispatch‘s release, but AdHoc Studio have confirmed again that it will be in 2025. I will, of course, be keeping a keen eye out for news, given it’s one of my most anticipated games coming this year.