Gen Con 2026 - our biggest and best yet, here's a recap!
Posted by Michael O'Brien on 10th Aug 2026
It's already been a week since Gen Con 2026, and we've still not shaken the thrill of the best four days in gaming. For those of you who missed the con this year, or those who want to relive it, we've collected some of our Chaosium highlights!
The Booth - the Boy King and Innsmouth
The stars of the show for Chaosium booth this year were our pre-releases for Pendragon: The Boy King and Call of Cthulhu: Innsmouth.
Both titles SOLD OUT of all editions during the show, with the Pendragon pre-release gone by Friday afternoon, despite being available in not one, not two, but three different covers.
-- Pendragon line editor David Larkins with three different versions of The Boy King --
Innsmouth hit shelves July 22nd, but for many Gen Con goers this was the first chance to get their hands on this glorious tome of eldritch lore. The book was available alongside the preview set of our new Call of Cthulhu minis line, Denizens of Innsmouth.
The minis are 28mm scale and ripe with stunning detail. Produced in partnership with our friends at Titanforge, you'll be able to learn more about the Cthulhu minis line in the coming weeks!
Cthulhu Takes Center Stage
Gen Con is always a showcase of actual play, but this year took the format to another level, especially for everyone's favourite horror game, Call of Cthulhu!
-- Call of Cthulhu: Theatre in the Round --
In addition to Chaosium's own actual play shows, Gen Con featured several other prominent Call of Cthulhu actual plays.
Ross Bryant and his improvisational Calm of Cthulhu show Push The Roll took the stage with premium talent for not one but two shows. Joining Bryant for one of the shows was actress and nerd all-star Felicia Day, who played Call of Cthulhu for the first time, in front of the Gen Con crowds!
-- Ross Bryant of Push the Roll and his players with a sell-out Call of Cthulhu Live audience at Gen Con --
Our friends at the Glass Cannon Network hosted three Call of Cthulhu events, two of which took place at the Atheneum Theatre to sold out crowds. Chaosium's own Brian Holland joined the cast for two of the events. You'll be able to catch the two Call or Cthulhu Live events on the Glass Cannon YouTube channel in the coming weeks. Their national Call of Cthulhu your continues into the latter half of the year, and tickers are still available!
-- Chaosium's Brian Holland making a visit to The Glass Cannon network's booth at Gen Con --
The Chaosium Event Room
For the third year in a row, Chaosium invited Gen Con attendees into our world(s) with the Chaosium Event Room!
-- Thursday morning: a huge queue waiting to get into the Chaosium Event Room --
With a prime location in the Hoosier Concourse directly opposite the main entrance to the dealer hall, the Chaosium Event Room hosted demos, VIP games, workshops with our creatives, and special events all weekend. It was also the only place to get our 2026 exclusive merchandise!
-- Chaosium fans pouring into our Event Room on Thursday morning --
The Pendragon Collector’s Launch Box
With just 11 made, this engraved wooden launch box contained a branded pencil, eraser, and dice tray, and a copy of Pendragon: The Boy King. We’d never done anything like this before, so we thrilled when these sold out before 10am on the Thursday!
-- The special Pendragon collector box sold out in minutes --
Not to worry, Pendragon fans and collectors, we’ve heard the demand loud and clear, and you can look forward to something special again next year (and in larger quantities)!
Chaosium at the Marriott
This year Chaosium expanded our events schedule to offer long-form content for our established fans. In the privacy of a special ball room in the Marriot Hotel, Chaosium devotees quested for Runes, solved eldritch mysteries, and quested for the grail all weekend long! Even 8:00AM Sunday all tables were filled.
-- Our dedicated games room at Marriott was busy all weekend long --
RuneQuest Joins The Hall of Fame
In 2026, we were very proud that the ENNIE awards decided to induct RuneQuest into the ENNIES Hall of Fame. RuneQuest, as Chaosium’s very first TTRPG, now joins the ranks of Dungeons & Dragons, Cyberpunk, and our own Call of Cthulhu.
Former RuneQuest line editor Jason Durall was at the ceremony to accept this prestigious honor on behalf of the company and our founder Greg Stafford who created the world of RuneQuest over 50 years ago.
-- Jason gave a stirring and respectful speech, which appropriately concluded with Greg’s words: “We are all us.” --
Congratulations also to Jayson Green whose Call of Cthulhu scenario The Bride of Pendle won silver ENNIES for Best Adventure - Short Form and Best Community Content.
The Gen Con Tornado
In what will surely be remembered as the Gen Con Tornado, the roof above our booth sprung a small leak during Saturday's epic downpour, but fortunately no harm was done. RuneQuest had been inducted into the ENNIES Hall of Fame at the Awards Ceremony the night before, so we'll just say this was the great Storm God Orlanth showing his approval.
-- Fortunately we were relatively unscathed by the Gen Con Tornado, praise Orlanth! --
VIP Games and Workshops
Chaosium rolled out the red carpet for some of our key creative minds.
-- VIP Game with Call of Cthulhu 7th edition co-author Paul Fricker --
A lucky collection of Gen Con attendees were able to secure tickets to our VIP games with the likes of Call of Cthulhu author Paul Fricker, actual play star Paula Deming, Pendragon creative lead David Larkins, and BRP line editor Jason Durall.
-- Paula Deming running her VIP game in the Chaosium Event Room --
We also offered workshops where attendees could learn how to write Call of Cthulhu from creative director Mike Mason or try their hand at map-making under the guidance of staff cartographer Matt Ryan.
-- No one lost their way at Matt Ryan's cartography workshop --
And what an evening – Bridgett Jeffries' live Cthulhu LARP in the Chaosium Event Room was a lot of fun!
-- Some sacrifices had to be made: Bridgett's Call of Cthulhu LARP --
Our Event Room workshops and VIP events always sell out the day tickets go on sale, so be sure to wishlist yours for 2027!
Old Ones Origins
The latest offering from Chaosium Board Games was on show in the main Chaosium booth! Call of Cthulhu: Old Ones Origins is the upcoming game from designer Samuel Bailey, the creative mind behind the modern classic Forbidden Stars.
-- Sign up to follow Old Ones Origins on Gamefound --
Sam and the board game team were on site at Gen Con showcasing demos of the game using the latest prototype for the game. If you want to learn more about Old Ones Origins, you can sign up to the Gamefound page now!
-- Sam Bailey demoing a prototype of our coming board game Call of Cthulhu: Old Ones Origins --
Time Without Tide
Our all-new IP and game system, Time Without Tide, was available in Quick Start form at Gen Con! We were excited to showcase the game in our event room and at the Backerkit booth on Thursday afternoon.
Time Without Tide is a game of mirth and misery in a world of fog. It’s set in a faux-victorian post-apocalyptic world where the moon has exploded, and the players, called Delvers, explore the mutating moon-fog in search of riches from the world that was.
The game has a big focus on unique, wacky character builds, twisted humour, and tactical hex-based combat. If you missed out on getting your hands on the Quick Start at Gen Con, you can get a digital one for free! You can download the 62-page adventure, maps, and pregenerated characters from our Backerkit page!
-- Follow Time Without Tide on Backerkit and receive the Quickstart rules for free --
Meet and Greet the Chaosium Team
The main Chaosium booth hosted daily signings with some of our key creatives. For many Gen Con attendees, this was a great opportunity not just to get their books signed by the authors, but also to talk with the creative minds behind their favorite games.
-- Age of Vikings author Pedro Ziviani and Basic Roleplaying creative director Jason Durall signing at the booth --
The signings were very popular, and will return for Gen Con 2027!
-- Call of Cthulhu 7th edition co-authors Paul Fricker and Mike Mason meeting fans and signing at the booth --
Thanks for Gen Con 2026
Thanks to everyone who visited our booth, checked out our Event Room, watched our shows, and played our games. And thanks to our tireless Cult of Chaos GMs who were running game sessions from start to finish, we couldn't have done it without you!
Looking Toward 2027 – Gen Con 60!
2027 marks the 60th year of Gen Con, and we at Chaosium cannot wait to see you there! For us and the creatives in the team, Gen Con remains the most invigorating and exciting convention. It’s the place where the community around this wonderful hobby shines in all facets, from young to old, with attendees from all across the world.
They’re not kidding when they say it’s the best four days in gaming. We’ll see you there in 2027.