Here’s a partnership I didn’t have on my bingo card: Critical Role and hololive are teaming up.
VTubers and voice actors will collide in Shattered Legends, an actual play series set within the confines of the tabletop RPG Daggerheart. Beginning in November 2026, Critical Role co-founder Matt Mercer will serve as the game master for an adventure that will unite one of the most popular streaming programs in the U.S. with a cultural phenomenon born in Japan.
Mercer’s players will include his wife and Critical Role co-star Marisha Ray, as well as four hololive VTubers: Nerissa Ravencroft, Mori Calliope, Shiori Novella, and Gig Murin. Together, the party will dive into the world of Daggerheart, which was released by Critical Role’s publishing arm Darrington Press.
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As strange as these bedfellows may seem, the Critical Role/hololive team-up makes plenty of sense. For starters, both cohorts rely on their voices in their work, and they each command sizable audiences across multiple platforms. Shattered Legends will be available on the hololive and Critical Role YouTube channels, as well as Ravencroft’s personal YouTube hub. It will also air through Beacon, the streaming service dedicated to Critical Role content. Viewers who watch there will be able to check out bonus content in addition to the mainline episodes.
Critical Role and hololive have wound up on similar trajectories. The former group parlayed its streaming success into a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign and partnerships with companies like Fathom. As for hololive, the Cover Corp-owned agency has helped its VTubers connect with their fans by putting on live events for them, and it has inked its share of entertainment partnerships, too. In one notable foray into the West, hololive VTubers got their own special promotion at a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
Shattered Legends is the culmination of those commonalities. Critical Role and hololive originated on opposite sides of the globe, but they are united by their devoted fanbases and eccentric characters. That’s why Shattered Legends has a good chance to roll a natural 20 when it arrives next month.
