For some publishers, the cost of missing Gen Con outweighs mounting risks

As Gen Con 2026 draws closer, the organizers of the largest US tabletop convention have announced that Indiana-based non-profit organization, Immigrant Welcome Center, will be the convention’s official charity partner. It’s a radical gesture in the face of intensifying immigration crackdown by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who have sworn to send more ICE agents to patrol sporting events like the upcoming FIFA World Cup in June. But like the year before, several tabletop RPG designers and studios, such as Magpie Games, have shared that they will not be traveling to Indianapolis to attend this year’s Gen Con. 

“I would love to go to a lot of American conventions again,” said MÖRK BORG designer Johan Nohr, in response to a Bluesky thread on attending Gen Con 2026. “That’s where my audience, a lot of my friends and collaborators are and I really, really like hanging out there. But there is no way I’m flying to the states right now. When shit is sorted I’ll reconsider, but right now that door is closed.” This was echoed by other designers in the same thread, all of whom also shared their reluctance to face a more fascist and militarized version of the US Department of Homeland Security (under which ICE presides).

A few international studios and publishers still plan to make the trip to the convention, despite the fraught political climate in the US. One of them is UK tabletop RPG publisher Soulmuppet Publishing, which, despite reservations around team safety, attended Gen Con last year. As pointed out by director Zach Cox to Rascal in an email, the team managed with three team members who “are privileged enough to be cis-passing white people”. They acknowledged that this was likely possible because they didn’t fit the profile of people that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would profile and police, such as people of color, members of the queer community, or people who present themselves in a gender non-conforming manner. Cox themself is growing a beard ahead of traveling this year, and told us that they are doing their best “to dress normal”. 

But for Cox, they believed that the precarity of travelling to the US has compounded due to the current US administration’s tendency to make grandstanding threats against other countries. This has ranged from Trump’s flagrant appetite for Greenland to the abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. “The concern has now altered subtly and insanely,” said Cox. “What if my country ends up at war with the US while I’m at a trade show? What can your contingency be for the possibility of sudden, global war initiated by dementia riddled temper tantrums?” On the other hand, Trump’s popularity in red states such as Kentucky and Indiana might have also rendered travel to these places safer at the moment, according to Cox, even though they remained wary about ICE presence in traditionally Conservative states. “The next step is what happens when Trump deploys ICE en masse to somewhere in the south,” they said. “Will they be met with support or angry locals with firearms?”

Like SoulMuppet Publishing, UK game publisher Modiphius Entertainment will also host a booth at Gen Con 2026, but with only select members attending the convention. “Some members of staff from the UK have felt forced to stay away from conventions in the USA given the government's policies,” said Samantha Webb, head of brand in Modiphius, in an email to Rascal. “I, myself, used to attend Gen Con with the company, but since transitioning it's just not safe for me to go anymore.” The team will have a procedure in place for ensuring that staff and volunteers are safe in the event of an active shooter situation — a contingency plan that Webb said is unique to the US. Pelgrane Press, another UK games publisher, also confirmed with Rascal in an email that the studio will have a presence at Gen Con, but only with their US-based freelancers attending the convention. However, the studio did not clarify if safety played into making this decision.

For many tabletop businesses, including Soulmuppet and Modiphius, the opportunity cost from attending events such as Gen Con are too great to overlook. Cox said that they had been to the US five times for professional reasons in the past 18 months of the Trump administration, and this is done to ensure the stability of their business, and “to keep food on the plates of my employees, creatives, and myself too”. They shared that sales from the US make up 70% of the team’s direct-to-consumer revenue, as well as 80 to 90% of the studio’s retail sales. “This is pretty consistent across most of the UK publishers I’ve spoken to,” he added. 

In addition, the American RPG market is much more developed than anywhere else. Cox attributes this to the “incredible work being done by retailers and distributors in the States. ”Maintaining a physical presence at US conventions like Gen Con, GAMA and PAX Unplugged is a crucial necessity for Soulmuppet, with the social and professional connections forged arguably more significant than even direct sales. “Shows in the US [...] get me face time with fans, customers, retailers, and distributors,” said Cox. “If I give up on the States, I go out of business. Simple as.”

Webb, too, pointed out the revenue brought in by attending conventions isn’t big enough to be particularly significant, but it’s also not a small figure. In fact, Webb said that Gen Con is probably the best in-person sales and organized play opportunity in Modiphius’ calendar. “We've launched games there, improved our sales there year on year, and it is a huge opportunity for selling to fans directly, as well as getting to speak to them and organise events for them,” Webb told Rascal. “It's also crucial for business relationships and meeting up with fellow publishers in our biggest market.”

Gen Con has yet to release a statement regarding ensuring the safety of attendees in the event of ICE mobilization within Indianapolis (Rascal has reached out to Gen Con for comments, but did not receive any response before publication). Nonetheless, Cox emphasized that their convention experiences have been delightful, and that they understand the organizers usually have their hands tied. “The actual people involved in the process all understand the scariness and the danger,” they said. “At GAMA, five or so people said to us, ‘I’m so sorry you have to suffer this insanity.’ Nothing is more charming than a southern gentleman kindly apologizing for the inconvenience of fascism, like this stranger was embarrassed he’d been a poor host for us.” Webb felt that Gen Con can still bolster confidence around safety by implementing more stringent security measures, such as bag checks or installing metal detectors. “There seems to be none at present,” she said. “If Gen Con has any safety procedures, I've never heard them spoken about or seen them openly accessible.”

Cox believes that the rampant animosity displayed by the US will have wider repercussions beyond stopping creators from attending tabletop conventions in the country. Steep tariffs and cultural exports in the form of political dishonesty and surveillance are some of the practices that are becoming commonplace across the globe, especially countries that are dependent or beholden to the US. This is a frightening prospect, but Cox is keen to keep themself occupied the only way they know how: designing RPGs. “[The country’s behavior] pushes this terrifying feeling of social regression, where kindness and sincerity mean nothing, like we’re being pushed into a new conservative dark age,” they said. Yet, they continue to take solace in the humanity at the heart of the tabletop scene, stating that “the industry is kind, compassionate and patient”.