A limited number of 4-Day and single-day badges for Gen Con Indy 2021 are on sale today at noon Eastern. The convention was rescheduled to September 16-19, 2021, and will proceed with a hybrid format combining three concurrent events to offer a flexible range of opportunities for participation: a reduced-capacity Gen Con Indy in-person at the Indiana Convention Center, Gen Con Online livestreaming, and gaming events, and Pop-Up Gen Con retail activations at local games stores.

In-person attendance will be capped to comply with local, state, and national public-health and safety guidelines, and 4-Day badges are anticipated to sell out quickly. Once they do, no further 4-Day badges will be offered this year, but additional inventory of single-day badges may become available based on changing health and safety guidelines.

All attendees who have rolled over their badge from 2020 are guaranteed a badge and have had their badges converted to 2021 on their accounts automatically, unless they request by email to customerservice@gencon.com by June 25 to roll their badge forward again to 2022.

You can check if you currently have a badge on your account on the My Schedule section of your account home page:

• On desktop, click your name in the upper-right corner when signed into your account.
• On mobile, sign in, tap your name in the menu, and then tap “My Schedule.”
• If you bought badges for anyone besides yourself, they would see them on their home page or your “My Packets” page if the badges are being mailed.

Trade Day will return for Gen Con Indy 2021 in partnership with Alliance Game Distributors with a modified schedule and content tracks. A limited quantity of Trade Day badges will be available starting May 23 for educators, librarians, and retailers. Trade Day attendees who have rolled-over their badges from 2020 will be contacted with additional information.

Housing Registration for Gen Con Indy will open on June 6.

Registration for Gen Con Online and Pop-Up Gen Con will open on June 27, 2021. It will cost $5.

With COVID still impacting everything, though vaccinations increasing, Gen Con has released an update as to its plans for its in-person, virtual, and pop-up conventions for 2021.

Gen Con

The convention has given an update stating that the full-time staff is almost fully vaccinated and the state of Indiana is rolling out vaccinations for all residents over the age of 16. The convention center has added $7 million in safety upgrades, instituted new protocols for cleaning and sanitization, installed hospital-grade air filtration, and has one-way traffic lanes in hallways and common areas. There’s also a mask requirement for all indoor spaces.

But, due to the move to September, the convention will have a space crunch. Lucas Oil Stadium will be in use and will not be available. Square footage per attendee is being expanded providing more space per person. Game tables will be spread apart more than usual and more open gaming will be present to allow greater flexibility for attendees.

There will also be limited attendance with it being capped at 30,000 to 40,000, half of what’s normal. That will also help with spacing issues.

24-hour gaming will not be going on as the convention center will be closed each night for cleaning and disinfection protocols.

There will also be timed entry as well as other crowd control measures. That includes no first-come, first-served exclusives and excessive lines.

Currently the convention will require masks unless something changes.

The convention is still mulling some things over like proof of vacination and how to handle social distancing which would be difficult to do at a gaming convention.

Gen Con Online

The online presence of the convention will be expanded. Gen Con Online will have a greater virtual presence to welcome attendees and exhibitors who can’t make it.

Pop-Up Gen Con

Also anounced are the publishers participating in Pop-Up Gen Con 2021. They’ll be shipping copies of their new games being released at the convention to participating shops as well as help with demos, events, and sales.

Participating publishers are:

• Catalyst Game Labs
• Forbidden Games
• Pandasaurus Games
• Ravensburger
• Renegade Game Studios
• SlugFest Games
• Steamforged Games
• Usaopoly | The Op
• Wyrd Games

Pop-Up Gen Con takes place September 18, 2021. Game title announcements are still coming.

There are so many unknowns when it comes to the 2021 convention season and they have been forcing hard decisions on so many. Gen Con today announced that they are postponing Gen Con 2021 as originally planned for August 5-8 in Indianapolis and announcing plans for a hybrid slate of concurrent in-person and online experiences, including the rescheduled Indy convention, this September 16-19, 2021. They believe this is the best approach both to meet the many challenges of the moment and to explore possibilities for the future.

The change is hopes that convention can include as many as possible while also remaining safe. It’s a flexible range of opportunities to participate. The in-person Gen Con in Indianapolis will have a capped attendance and a modified format while those not comfortable or unable to attend being able to still do so from home or from their local game stores through Pop-Up Gen Con retail events.

The Gen Con website has more details. Dates for badges, hotel, and event registration, have not been announced.