The signs were pointing to it being a reality but it has been announced that Gen Con 2020 has been officially been canceled. The safety of the convention has been a focus and it’s been impossible for conventions to do that with COVID-19 and the uncertainty of what the pandemic will be like months ahead. Gen Con 2021 will take place August 5-8, 2021.
The decision has also been made to cancel at Gen Con 202 Pop-Up events as well.
But, with the cancellation of the physical event, Gen Con Online has been announced!
During the original dates of the convention (July 30 – Aug 2, 2020), will be Gen Con Online, a virtual convention experience featuring a slate of events and programming you can attend remotely from the safety of your devices and in the comfort of your favorite quarantine sweatpants!
You can read their cancellation announcement and options for attendees through email below:
It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the cancellation of Gen Con 2020 this summer in Indianapolis. The safety and health of our attendees, exhibitors, and staff are of the utmost importance to us, and we cannot in good conscience host a gathering of thousands while doing so could threaten the health of so many. If you’d like to know more about our decision to cancel, please head over to the Gen Con website.
If you’ve already purchased your badge for Gen Con 2020 and are willing to roll it forward to Gen Con 2021, it will help us keep our staff employed through these unprecedented times and come back better than ever next year. If you’d like to pursue this option, you don’t have to do anything — we’ll convert your 2020 badge to a badge for 2021. However, if that’s not in your financial picture, we completely understand.
Here are the options for your Gen Con 2020 badge:
1. If you are willing to roll your badge forward to 2021, then you’re all set — we’ll do this automatically, with great appreciation.
2. If you’d like a refund to the original method of purchase, please email us at customerservice@gencon.combetween May 26 and July 29.Let us know you’d like a refund, and include your name and Gen Con ID number (find it next to your name in the corner while logged in). We’ll process a refund minus a $10 per badge return fee.
3. If you’d like to return your badge for system credit, email us at customerservice@gencon.com between May 26 and July 29 and we will credit your Gen Con account. Please include your name and Gen Con ID number. Returns to system credit incur no return fees, and system credit does not expire.
4. You can donate the cost of your badge to help us weather the storm and come back strong for Gen Con 2021. Email customerservice@gencon.com between May 26 and July 29 and include your name and Gen Con ID number if you’d like to pursue this option.
Note: Refund requests will not be accepted until May 26, and must be received by email to customerservice@gencon.com by July 29. Please include your choice of action for your badge, your name, and your Gen Con ID number (find it to the right of your name in the corner when you’re logged in at gencon.com).
After July 29, all 2020 badges will be rolled over to 2021. If you miss that window or decide later you’d like a refund, you can request one beginning February 1, 2021.
If you’ve made a hotel reservation through our Housing Portal, your reservation will automatically be canceled, and you will not be charged any fees. The hotel queue will be reassigned for 2021.
All Pop-Up Gen Con events will also be canceled for 2020.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support during this time. We hope that you and your circle of loved ones are safe and healthy! We look forward to seeing your wonderful faces in 2021!
Gen Con is the largest and longest-running annual event devoted to tabletop gaming culture in North America. The convention, which began in 1968 in Lake Geneva, WI, attracts 70,000 attendees and over 520 exhibiting companies each year. During the convention, attendees choose from more than 20,000 ticketed events representing a wide array of board games, card games, roleplaying games, seminars, entertainment events, and more. Gen Con takes place each August in the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and surrounding downtown hotel spaces in Indianapolis, IN.
