Indie tabletop studio Rowan, Rook, and Decard will not attend GenCon 2025 this year. The indie TTRPG studio stated this decision was a result of recent actions by the US government, specifically their recent abductions and deportations of foreign visitors.
Rowan, Rook, and Decard Not Attending GenCon 2025
In a post on their official website, Rowan, Rook, and Decard explained why their UK-based employees will not attend GenCon 2025. The explanation is simple: crossing the border to the US isn’t safe for them, and they doubt the situation will improve.
This statement is in response to recent activity by the US government towards overseas visitors. Ostensibly under a strict anti-immigration campaign enforced by ICE, people can be held indefinitely without charge, and even deported from the United States. This has happened to several tourists with visas, and even a French scientist who was critical of President Trump.
Complicating matters further is, due to the methodology of ICE, those that are detained can be done on dubious grounds. The most high-profile of these wrongful detainments is Columbia University student and activist Mahmoud Khalil.
We aren’t the first to make this decision; we suspect we won’t be the last, either; the political climate is only getting worse. While the odds of most of us encountering resistance at border control are low, we don’t want to risk running the biggest convention of the year without the members of staff we need because they’ve been detained, deported, or otherwise penalised for their beliefs or who they are.
Obviously we’re upset about this, and we’re angry at the situation that makes this the best course of action. We want to come to GenCon. We want to be part of what we believe is one of the best conventions in the world, and what represents a huge outpouring of enthusiasm for play.
As a result, the usual events run Rowan, Rook, and Decard will not be happening at GenCon 2025. This includes their schedule of multi-table games, their VIP box stadium games, or their annual pizza and whiskey party.
Thankfully, there will be some representation of the indie studio’s work at the event. Courtesy of their US partners, the studios games will be sold at the event. These include their most well-known work like Honey Heist, Eat The Reich, and Heart.
The hostile environment to foreign visitors is but one recent action by the Trump Administration that has negatively affected the tabletop industry. The recent import tariffs on Chinese goods has sent shockwaves through the industry, causing several studios to close.
