They could, but it would be pretty silly.
Right now they have a nice symbiotic relationship going with WotC. WotC handles the "design, publish, and support the RPG" end of things, which is not easy and requires a good deal of talent and expertise. Critical Role manages the "create and stream a popular show" end of things, which is also not easy and requires a good deal of talent and expertise. Then they both profit off their shared audience.
Publishing their own RPG would blow all that up and saddle them with the costs of the RPG end. And what would they get? At best, they would collect a fraction of the profits of D&D (since they would now be splitting the market with 5E). More likely, the RPG would crash and burn.
A good business plan needs to offer returns commensurate with the risks. High risks need high potential returns to justify them. In this case, the returns are low and the risks are high.
Right now they have a nice symbiotic relationship going with WotC. WotC handles the "design, publish, and support the RPG" end of things, which is not easy and requires a good deal of talent and expertise. Critical Role manages the "create and stream a popular show" end of things, which is also not easy and requires a good deal of talent and expertise. Then they both profit off their shared audience.
Publishing their own RPG would blow all that up and saddle them with the costs of the RPG end. And what would they get? At best, they would collect a fraction of the profits of D&D (since they would now be splitting the market with 5E). More likely, the RPG would crash and burn.
A good business plan needs to offer returns commensurate with the risks. High risks need high potential returns to justify them. In this case, the returns are low and the risks are high.