Critical Role’s cofounders reject AI as seasons stretch

As “The Legend of Vox Machina” returns with another long wait between seasons, Critical Role’s eight cofounders say they will never use AI to speed up their animation—pointing to what they believe machines can’t replicate. The team’s answer is slower, human-ma

When the last episodes of “The Legend of Vox Machina” finally land on Wednesday, the countdown will feel familiar to fans: long stretches between seasons, and the sense that every frame takes time. For Critical Role’s eight cofounders, that wait isn’t just how animation works—it’s a choice.

Speaking ahead of the fourth season of the Amazon-backed animated series. the cofounders said they will never use AI as a shortcut. even though tools are widely available. The show is built from the group’s long-running “Dungeons & Dragons” livestream. where eight cofounders began voicing the main roles by originating characters in a friend-group campaign played as Mercer and Ray’s “living room” game.

“We’ll never use AI. ” the team’s stance boils down to a simple belief from Matt Mercer. the outfit’s chief creative officer: “A computer cannot be passionate. And the whole reason that Critical Role is here isn’t just because of great stories or because of a magnificent fantasy realm. Ultimately, it’s because of us being friends caring about each other and being so invested in this story together.”.

That philosophy also has a business side. and Travis Willingham—Critical Role’s CEO—linked it to what the work is for beyond shipping episodes. He said the crew wanted to give people a chance to display talent. learn from each other. and hone their craft. “We’ve been the incredible recipients of watching those people at the highest level do their work. To me, that’s something that can never be replaced by a machine or a program,” Willingham said.

Critical Role’s animation push has never relied on quick pivots. In 2019, the group raised a record $11.3 million via Kickstarter to jump-start the animation wing of their business, which started in 2015. Even with established production pipelines, the cofounders said AI has no place in their process.

They also described a collaborative, people-first operation that reaches beyond the studio walls. The group works with writers and artists based in and outside the US. The cofounders are involved in character design and write episodes for the show, with help from the team of cowriters. The livestream itself runs from the group’s home base: a studio in Los Angeles.

This season’s episode contributions underline how central the cofounders say storytelling is to the production. Cofounder Liam O’Brien co-wrote an episode this season with Critical Role creative director Marisha Ray. The episode is a heist titled “De Rolo’s Eleven.” O’Brien framed the choice against AI through the kind of writing he wants to keep alive: “We crave other people telling stories. That’s what we’ve done from the very beginning and AI is promising us perfection in a facsimile,” he said. “And I think what we love about the characters in our story is they are flawed and have so many wrinkles and problems. And I don’t know that that promise of perfection even appeals.”.

The policy lands in a wider arc of how a niche game community grew into a multi-format business. A decade after the living-room campaign began. Critical Role’s friend group has become the co-leaders of a multi-arm gaming and media company. In the last 11 years. the team streamed thousands of hours of their “D&D” campaign—building a fanbase that fueled live tours and books. and provided resources to publish their own game. “Daggerheart.”.

They’ve also taken their tabletop play internationally, performing for arena-sized audiences of thousands of fans. Beyond the animated series, there is a Critical Role video game and more episodes of their second Amazon-backed animated series, “Mighty Nein,” in the works.

For viewers, the timing is the headline that doesn’t need explaining: the last three-episode tranche of “The Legend of Vox Machina” drops on Wednesday, and the show has been renewed for a fifth season.

For the cofounders, the deal is simpler than it sounds. The work might take years between seasons, but they are betting the audience will recognize the difference they’re protecting—human craft, not machine speed.

Critical Role The Legend of Vox Machina AI animation Amazon-backed animated show Dungeons & Dragons Kickstarter Matt Mercer Travis Willingham Liam O'Brien Marisha Ray Mighty Nein Daggerheart