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Dungeons & Dragons Designers Join Critical Role Publisher
The cast of Critical Role has been linked to Dungeons & Dragons from the very beginning of the hit streaming series. Now, two Dungeons & Dragons veterans are joining Critical Role's publishing house, Darrington Press, to work on new game concepts and potentially on additions to the company's recently released Daggerheart game.
Darrington Press shared the announcement that Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford--two of the key designers behind Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition--have signed on as Creative Director and Game Director, respectively. Perkins was at D&D parent company Wizards of the Coast for 28 years, while Crawford had an 18-year run there.
"Storytelling has always been at the heart of everything I do, and joining Darrington Press feels a bit like coming home," said Perkins in a statement. "I've loved being a part of the extended Critical Role family as a regular guest over the years and I'm beyond excited to help create new worlds full of adventure."
"I've always believed that great games invite everyone to the table, and that’s exactly what excites me about joining Darrington Press," added Crawford. "This team is passionate, wildly creative, and committed to building welcoming, connected, amazing story-driven experiences--I can't wait to expand on what Critical Role has already created to develop some really fun and unique games."
Critical Role began in 2015 when a group of voice actors began livestreaming their Dungeons & Dragons campaign. The series proved to be so popular that Critical Role has expanded into its own standalone media empire, with The Legend of Vox Machina animated series on Prime Video and a second series, Mighty Nein, coming in the future. Wizards of the Coast has also released official Critical Role/Dungeons & Dragons campaign books. In the spirit of that collaboration, the official D&D social media accounts congratulated Crawford and Perkins for their new jobs.
Now that the kobold is out of the bag... Congratulations to Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins joining Darrington Press! Their creativity helped shape D&D as we know it today and the team they nurtured continues to shape its future. We look forward to playing their next adventure.
— Dungeons & Dragons (@dndbeyond.com) June 16, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Late last year, the Critical Role team hinted that it may make a video game in the future. Darrington Press was launched in 2020 to expand Critical Role's reach in the tabletop RPG realm.
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