Inside the Critical Role Global Tour Defining Nerdworld

The Phenomenon of Critical Role

The excitement at Critical Role's live shows in Sydney and Melbourne was nothing short of electric. It reminded me of the energy I had only witnessed at K-Pop concerts. Seeing it firsthand made me realize just how massive this business has become.

When I arrived at the Critical Role merchandise line in Sydney six hours before the show, I turned to my friend and said, "Oh, no." Earlier that morning, I had confidently claimed that the lines wouldn't be anything like queuing for BTS merch. But we had traveled from Singapore for two stops of the Australian leg of CR's live shows, only to find a long line outside the ICC Theater, a venue that seats 9,000 people. Despite covering CR for years, I had underestimated the pull this crew of eight people would have on the other side of the world. We waited in line for over five hours, joining fans eager to buy shirts and hoodies with tour dates on them.

For those unfamiliar, Critical Role is a nerdworld business that has sold out stadium shows in and beyond the US. Thousands of people have paid hundreds of dollars to watch them play "Dungeons & Dragons" — and now, their new game, "Daggerheart" — for nearly five hours. Since their 2023 show at London's Wembley Arena, CR's touring machine has gained momentum, with a multi-city 2025 tour set to end at Radio City Music Hall on October 7. The eight CR cofounders are also in their 10th year running their business, which spans animation, gaming, and book publishing.

K-Pop Concert-Style Excitement

Before the show, I tried to soak in the full Critical Role live experience. I mingled with fans decked out in full cosplay, some covered in purple body paint to match their favorite elf boy. Attendees came from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and New Zealand. A fan based in South Korea estimated they'd spent close to $6,000 to see CR live. Another told me they'd spent close to $10,000 to fly in from Los Angeles, determined to follow CR to every tour stop.

Much like the K-pop concerts I was used to attending, people exchanged trinkets and traded friendship bracelets, Taylor Swift-concert style. Natasha Langdon, 25, organized a fan meet event in Sydney. "Last year, when I flew to LA to see Critical Role live, I went to a similar type of fan meetup, and it was one of the most joyous occasions of my life. I was on the other side of the world, and yet there was an immediate sense of homecoming and welcome," she shared.

The CR fever wasn’t limited to the show nights. Weeklong events catering to the fandom mushroomed up at venues across both cities. One such event was "Realms Unleashed," a series of events organized by Fortress, a gaming bar and entertainment venue with outlets in Sydney and Melbourne. Nearly 18,000 people attended in the two cities, according to a Fortress representative.

The Crew's Touring Business is Revving Up

I caught up with three of the crew's cofounders backstage at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena, the Australian leg's second stop—a venue that seats over 10,000 people. Matthew Mercer, the team's chief creative officer and longtime game master, admitted it was still "terrifying" to step out onstage in front of thousands of people. CR records most of its content out of its LA studio, so Mercer often has an audience of just seven instead of thousands of screaming fans.

"I go in with the perpetual cloud of, 'I hope everyone likes this, because they paid to be here,'" Mercer said. The crew's 2026 tour will take them to Atlanta and Texas, including a major event at London's O2 arena in October, which rivals Madison Square Garden in size.

Expanding the CR Business

CR is also expanding other arms of its business. On the game publishing front, the company recently hired Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, major names in game design. They left their roles at CR's Hasbro-owned competitor, Wizards of the Coast, in April. Perkins and Crawford now work for Darrington Press, the team's official publishing arm, and are pitching ideas on everything from improvements to "Daggerheart"—a sold-out game CR has been developing for years—to new products.

On other fronts, CR's Amazon-backed animation, "The Mighty Nein," is set to drop soon, pending a big announcement on Thursday out of San Diego Comic Con. There's also more information about the long-awaited Critical Role video game. The team is working with AdHoc Studio, an indie outfit from LA, to develop its original product set in Mercer's world of Exandria.

Still, CR started on a stream, and creative director Marisha Ray says the cofounders aren't letting up on that, especially since they have their own streaming platform, Beacon. "We're very lucky in the way that Beacon has afforded us a lot of flexibility to experiment and stretch our legs," Ray said. She mentioned the team hopes to do more shorter-run series with the "Daggerheart" gaming system and experiment with genre-bending content. "Honestly, the only thing that's limiting us right now is our Google calendars," she added.

The Accidental Empire

Sitting backstage at an arena, waiting for thousands of excited fans to pour in and fill the seats, I couldn't help but ask the three cofounders a question I first asked Mercer and Willingham years ago: Does it feel like you're in the empire business? Mercer said the word "empire" was a term others used to describe CR. "I don't think we intended to build an empire, but I would be remiss if we don't occasionally stop, take a breath, look behind us, and go, 'Oh, shit. I think we accidentally built an empire,'" he said.

"I feel like we've made a fun house more than an empire," Willingham said. "But we have made this tiny home game into a multi-headed production company." "And that's a wonderful thing. But it also keeps us up at night. It definitely makes us burn the candle at both ends," Willingham added.