Critical Role signs on to publish band-manager RPG Rockbeasts, out January 2027

Rockbeasts, a role-playing game in which you manage a struggling rock band rather than play in it, now has a release window and a new partner. Developer Lichthund announced on the PlayStation Blog that the game launches in January 2027 and that Critical Role, the company behind the long-running tabletop web series, is working with the studio on both the game itself and its publishing.

What was announced

• Release window: January 2027. No exact day was given.
• Platforms: the PlayStation Blog post confirms PlayStation 5. Gematsu reports that the game is also coming to Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, and that a PC demo is already available.
• Partnership: Lichthund says Critical Role is a creative partner as well as a publisher.
• Cast: Critical Role’s Matthew Mercer and Sam Riegel are joining the voice cast. The post doesn’t say which characters they play.
• Wishlists: the studio is asking players to wishlist the game ahead of launch.

What kind of game it is

The player is the band’s manager. According to Lichthund creative director and co-CEO Bartosz Pieczonka, the job is to take a group from a cluttered garage to major stages while juggling money, clashing egos and the occasional disaster. Pieczonka describes the game as built around a theme rather than a neat genre, and says the studio’s own love of music inspired it.

Why it matters

Critical Role is best known for its streamed Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Writing in the post, Pieczonka says themed projects that resist easy categorisation are hard to get noticed, and that the partnership should let the team finish the game they originally planned.

What we don’t know yet

There is no price, exact date or full cast list yet. Lichthund says more announcements are coming before launch.