Critical Role Joins Lichthund as Co-Publisher of Rockbeasts, Out January 2027

Critical Role is stepping behind the mixing desk as a publisher. The media company confirmed on October 8 that it is joining Warsaw developer LICHTHUND as co-publisher of Rockbeasts, the studio's rock-and-roll management RPG, and that cast members Matthew Mercer and Sam Riegel are joining the game's voice cast. Rockbeasts is now set to launch on PS5 in January 2027.

A New Publishing Partner

LICHTHUND announced Rockbeasts in early 2025 with Team17 attached as publisher, but Steam's current listing for the game now names only LICHTHUND and Critical Role as publishers, confirming the shift Sony detailed in its own PlayStation Blog announcement. Critical Role describes the deal as creative as well as commercial: beyond putting money behind the release, the company is folding Rockbeasts into the same roster of projects as its animated shows The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein.

Bartosz Pieczonka, Creative Director and Co-CEO at LICHTHUND, framed the partnership as a vote of confidence in a game that doesn't fit a marketing template. "Not because it's the biggest game, or the safest bet," he said of why Critical Role signed on. "Games like this, the ones driven by feeling rather than formula, don't play nice with algorithms."

A Studio Built on Lichtspeer

LICHTHUND was founded in Warsaw in 2015 by Rafał Zaremba and Pieczonka, and the studio's best-known release remains Lichtspeer, a 2019 lightspear-throwing action game that built a cult following for its sharp, Germanic-flavored humor. Rockbeasts is a much larger undertaking by comparison: a narrative-driven management RPG rather than an arcade throwing game, and the first LICHTHUND project to carry a marquee outside collaboration on this scale.

Inside Rockbeasts' Grunge-Era Pitch

Rockbeasts casts players as the manager of a struggling grunge band trying to claw its way from dive-bar gigs to arena headlines, set in an alternate 1990s America populated by anthropomorphic characters. It's built as a management RPG first, with players booking shows, juggling budgets and band egos, and keeping gear running between tours, layered with rhythm-based performance sequences when the band actually takes the stage.

Narrative director Jakub Szamałek wrote the story, delivered through a hand-drawn art style pulled from adult animation rather than realistic 3D models. The soundtrack carries 17 original tracks, and the existing voice cast already includes Iggy Pop alongside the newly announced Critical Role additions.

Mercer and Riegel Join the Cast

Matthew Mercer, Critical Role's Chief Creative Officer and longtime Dungeon Master, and Sam Riegel, a core cast member known for voicing characters like Scanlan Shorthalt, are both joining Rockbeasts' voice cast as part of the deal. Neither PlayStation's announcement nor LICHTHUND has detailed which roles the pair will play, but their involvement ties the game more directly to Critical Role's existing fanbase ahead of launch.

“Games like this, the ones driven by feeling rather than formula, don't play nice with algorithms.”Bartosz Pieczonka, Creative Director and Co-CEO at LICHTHUND

Why Critical Role Is Betting on Games

The Rockbeasts deal lands through Darrington Press, Critical Role's publishing arm, which sits alongside the company's Metapigeon production studio and its nonprofit Critical Role Foundation. Co-founder and CEO Travis Willingham has said for roughly two years that the company was pursuing a video game project, after Critical Role's earlier, smaller investment in the action-platformer ZAU: Tales of Kenzera. Rockbeasts is the clearest sign yet of that ambition taking shape, even though it is not the Exandria-set game some fans have been expecting.

Release Window and What's Next

PlayStation's announcement confirms a PS5 release in January 2027, and Rockbeasts' Steam store page lists the same window for its PC version, which players can already wishlist. The game has picked up attention on the festival circuit over the past year, winning Excellence in Audio at the DevGAMM Awards and earning official selections at Day of the Devs and the Tribeca Games Awards, alongside nominations for DevGAMM's Grand Prize and gamescom's Best Audio honor.

Earlier showcases floated Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S versions, but neither platform appears on Rockbeasts' current Steam page or in PlayStation's own post, so treat those as unconfirmed for now rather than locked in.