Plug Pulled on Gen Con Online
Gen Con (Indianapolis, Indiana, August 1-4) has ended Gen Con Online, its virtual convention which ran from 2020 to 2023. From 2021 onward, Gen Con Online was held alongside Gen Con, as a parallel but separate event.
The official statement is brief:
Gen Con Online will go offline in 2024 as we turn our full attention to ensuring a best-in-class convention experience with Gen Con Indy. No Gen Con Online events will be held during Gen Con Indy going forward; however, year-round live streaming on Gen Con TV, our official Twitch channels, our vibrant Discord community, and other online entertainment experiences will continue to take place virtually via Gen Con Indy convention programming during The Best Four Days in Gaming™ this August 1-4 in Indianapolis.
It goes on to describe Gen Con Online as a free convention, not entirely true as online players still had to pay per game they played.
Gen Con’s other experiment in offsite expansion, Pop-Up Gen Con, remains on its indefinite hiatus which began in 2022. This leaves physical attendance in Indianapolis as the only option for participating in Gen Con, a fraught decision for many gamers due to Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion.
At the time the ban was enacted, Polygon quoted a Gen Con statement saying it was “hurt, angry and frustrated by recent events” and that the ban had “a direct impact on our team”. However, Gen Con would later choose to renew its contract with the Indianapolis Convention Center through 2030.
In Brief
A bid has been launched to hold the World Science Fiction Convention in Montréal in 2027, using the same facilities as the 2009 Worldcon. It will be up against a bid for Tel Aviv in 2027, to be voted on in 2025.
Elizabeth (Warren) Adams, a longtime staffer and 3-time chair of Norwescon, died February 9. More from Norwescon on Mastodon.
Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, March 22-24) has added Charlie Cox, Grace Van Dien, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Ryan Bartley as guests.
Event Calendar
Weekend of February 16-18
Radcon 9: Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards, Pasco, Washington, USA
CONpossible: The Jungles of Venus (alternate history), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Life, the Universe, and Everything #42 (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA
DunDraCon 47 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA
Itzacon XVII: Return From the Grave (gaming), Galway, Ireland
Polar Vortex 8 (gaming), Lisle, Illinois, USA
Con of the North (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Orccon 2024 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
Escape Winter Con 2024 (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Decepta Con IX (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
J-Popcon (anime), Copenhagen, Denmark
Katsucon 2024 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA
Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Geek Days Rennes (media), Rennes, France
Philip K. Dick Film Festival, New York City, New York, USA
StingrayCon (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Boston Sci Fi Film Festival 49, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Gallifrey One's Miracle on 34th Street (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of February 23-25
ConCave 43, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
FenCon XIX, Irving, Texas, USA
Cosplay Up! 2024 (costuming), Manila, Philippines
FurSquared 2024 (anthropomorphic), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
NordicFuzzCon 2024 (anthropomorphic), Malmö, Sweden
Atlanta Game Fest 42, Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA
Total Confusion 38 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Plattecon XXXVII: Year of the Glitch (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
CalCon (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
Gamicon Arsenic (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
LootFest (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Prolog 2024 (gaming), Trollhättan, Sweden
SoRCon 15 (boardgames), Basildon, UK
PrezCon 2024 (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA
Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Pensacon (media), Pensacola, Florida, USA
Weekend of March 1-3
CoastCon 46, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
Picocon 41: The Menagerie, London, UK
Ret-Con 2024, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Cor41u (fanzines), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Cardboard*Con: Ye Olde Cardboard Con 15 (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Gdakon (anthropomorphic), Gdansk, Poland
Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 12, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Evercon 24 (gaming), Rothschild, Wisconsin, USA
SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA
Tennessee Game Days Spring 2024, Franklin, Tennessee, USA
GAD-CON 2024 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA
CincyCon 2024 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA
Cold Barrage 2024 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
Games With Trains, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Intercon V: Voices (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
Kawacon: 3 Wishes (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
SwampCon Cirque du Gator (anime), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
Anime Crossroads 2024, Plainfield, Indiana, USA
ExpOtaku Almería 2024 (anime), Almería, Spain
Puchicon NJ (anime), Teaneck, New Jersey, USA
Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA
Sunrise Comic Con, Sunrise, Florida, USA
Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA
KhromaKon (media), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
PeoriaCon 2024 (media), Peoria, Illinois, USA
House of Mouse Expo (Disney-owned media), Kissimmee, Florida, USA
Weekend of March 8-10
Cleveland ConCoction, Aurora, Ohio, USA
MarsCon 2024, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Pulp Fiction Central, Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Fur the More: Arthurian Legends (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA
VancouFur 2024: Claws & Clockwork (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
14. Bremer Spiele-Tage (gaming), Bremen, Germany
Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA
Gratislavia (gaming), Wrocław, Poland
Dice Tower West (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
ShushCon 2024 (gaming), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA
MidWinter ‘24 (gaming), Haugesund, Norway
TezalCon (video games), Daleville, Alabama, USA
PrinceCon 47 (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Lost Golaricon 2024: Once More With Feeling (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
MinamiCon 29 (anime), Southampton, UK
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA
Japan Expo Marseille (anime), Marseille, France
ACEcon 2024 (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
Kikori Con 2024 (anime), Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA
Collective Con (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Dublin Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland
CarrierCon 2024 (media), Alameda, California, USA
TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, US
Weekend of March 15-17
SFW 15, Great Yarmouth, UK
Nerdi Gras 2024, Duluth, Georgia, USA
45th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, Florida, USA
GollanczFest 2024 (sf books), London, UK
Gateway Fur Meet: Murder Mystery Party (anthropomorphic), Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Furnal Equinox: Under the Sea (anthropomorphic), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Texas Furry Fiesta: Singularity Point (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA
BashCon 38 (gaming), Toledo, Ohio, USA
Zuiderspel (gaming), Veldhoven, Netherlands
Ludesco (gaming), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
LeiriaCon (gaming), Leiria, Portugal
Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
AireCon (gaming), Harrogate, UK
TokenCon 2024 (gaming), Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
Breakout 2024 (gaming), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
GOBfest (boardgames), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Playthrough (video games), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Concrete Cow (RPGs), Milton Keynes, UK
Ambercon US (diceless RPGs), Livonia, Michigan, USA
Founders & Legends (D&D), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Ani-Me Con 12.0 (anime), Fresno, California, USA
EvilleCon: Year of the Dragon (anime), Evansville, Indiana, USA
Anime New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Colorado Anime Fest 2024, Denver, Colorado, USA
Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
GalaxyCon Richmond (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand
Paris Manga Sci-Fi Show (media), Villepinte, France
Florida PolyCon (media), Lakeland, Florida, USA
Coda
Suspicious betting leads to questions about Super Bowl Gatorade color odds (New York Post, hat tip: Money Stuff)
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