How to Make Millions Playing Dungeons & Dragons

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by
Slate staff writer Luke Winkie to discuss his recent profile
of Critical Role’s Matthew Mercer. Launched by Mercer and
his friends in 2015, Critical Role is undoubtedly a
megahit, boasting over 600 million views on YouTube. As Winkie
wrote in his profile, “A 2021 data leak out of Twitch confirmed
that Critical Role is one of the richest channels on the
platform, generating a mammoth $9.6 million in revenue between
2019 and 2021.” Hampton, Lim and Winkie discuss the appeal
of Critical Role, the so-called “Mercer Effect” and
whether Critical Role’s success indicates that Dungeons
& Dragons is no longer just the domain of the proudly geeky.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario,
Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices.
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