What Game Publishers Are Saying About The Tariffs

Many tabletop game companies have already spoken out about the recent US tariffs and how they will be affected. I will add to this thread as and when I hear of new statements.

Game Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) -- "The latest imposition of a 54% tariff on products from China by the administration is dire news for the tabletop industry and the broader US economy. As an industry highly dependent on producing goods overseas and importing them into the US, this policy will have devastating consequences. Tariffs are essentially taxes on consumers, not on the countries where the products are produced. Publishers will be forced to pass these costs along to their customers or face the prospect of ceasing operations. Nearly a third of all US consumer goods — including clothes, food products, appliances, cars, and entertainment items like games — are imported. This means higher prices across the board as all these products will need to increase prices to compensate for these new Trump Taxes... This one-two punch is likely to put many of our members out of business or force them to downsize and lay off employees to survive."

Steve Jackson Games -- "Some people ask, "Why not manufacture in the U.S.?" I wish we could. But the infrastructure to support full-scale boardgame production – specialty dice making, die-cutting, custom plastic and wood components – doesn't meaningfully exist here yet. I've gotten quotes. I've talked to factories. Even when the willingness is there, the equipment, labor, and timelines simply aren't. We aren't the only company facing this challenge. The entire board game industry is having very difficult conversations right now. For some, this might mean simplifying products or delaying launches. For others, it might mean walking away from titles that are no longer economically viable. And, for what I fear will be too many, it means closing down entirely."

EN Publishing -- "We at EN Publishing have four Kickstarters fulfilling (Voidrunner's Codex, Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2024, Monstrous Menagerie II, and Split the Hoard) which have been paid for, including shipping, by the customer already. Two of those (Voidrunner and Split the Hoard) involve boxes and components, which meant they were manufactured in China. The other two are printed in the EU (Lithuania, specifically). All four inventory shipments will arrive in the US after the tariffs come in. We haven't yet worked out exactly what that means, but it won't be pleasant."

Chaosium -- "First, we will certainly need to raise the price of our books and board games. We simply cannot afford to absorb the cost of these additional tariffs. We wish it were otherwise, but that’s just the reality of the situation. Second, this may result in delays. We need to look at potentially new manufacturing locations, new supply chains, etc. This may delay manufacturing of some anticipated products until we know how to deal with the changing environment."

Kobold Press -- "The short and sweet reality is that each hardcover printed outside the US will cost from 20% to 54% more to produce, and like a lot of TTRPG companies, we simply can’t absorb that tax hike and stay in business. The Steve Jackson Games statement makes it abundantly clear; while tariffs can be part of a national strategy, this is a very high, very sudden tax hike for a printing industry that doesn’t have a lot of US capacity. There’s no way to “just move” these projects to the US. So, prices are going up to allow game publishers to pay the new import taxes. There’s very little we can do about it. If you are unhappy with the price hikes, we strongly recommend that you contact you representatives in Congress."

The Arcane Library (Shadowdark)-- "The current tariffs, severe though they are, are not going to impact pricing or deliverabilty of [The Western Reaches]. We planned for this in our margins and can safely absorb the costs."

Evil Baby Entertainment (The Broken Empires) -- "Those of us living in the U.S. know that a whole bunch of new tariffs (read: taxes) have been levied on many imports. There’s no question that I’m going to get hit with at least an extra 20% tax on every product that comes in from my overseas manufacturers. I have heard horror stories about other Kickstarter creators who charged backers additional fees to cover such unanticipated costs. Rest assured: my backers will NOT be charged any additional fees. I will eat the cost of the tariffs myself. Not gonna lie, that’s gonna hurt — but we had a deal, and I have no intention of altering it in the face of this unwelcome development."

Stonemaier Games -- "65% of our sales are in the US, so this will take a heavy toll on Stonemaier Games. We’re fortunate that yesterday’s launch product, Tokaido, arrived in the US just before the original 20% tariffs took effect. We won’t be so fortunate when Vantage–a project I’ve worked on for 8 years–ships from China in May and June. I’m not sure yet what we’ll do about that... Manufacturing the types of games we make is not an option in the US. People have tried, even recently. Even if a company wanted to invest in the infrastructure to try to make it happen, the short-term losses from the tariffs will eat too deep into their cash to make it possible (plus, many of the machines used to make games are also made in China, so you’ll pay a huge tariff even if you invest in the machines needed to make games in the US). Plus, many publishers currently have print runs in production in China–it simply isn’t possible to change course for those print runs. So with costs (tariff taxes) due to skyrocket in a few months, prices will also significantly increase."

Coyote & Crow -- "Osiyo, friends. Not to make this all about Coyote & Crow, but yesterday's news from the US Gov may have some devastating impacts on C&C Games as a whole. A cumulative 54% import tariff on goods from China will essentially kill my company (and the games industry). Sadly, it's partially our own hobby's fault that we're in the worst position to weather this storm. For years, board games have operated on razor thin margins because many fans are resistant to price hikes. But even with the amazingly generous and awesome folks that support Coyote & Crow, we won't survive this. I'm not going to ask anyone to "dig deep" or to in any way stretch themselves to support us. We're /all/ going to be in bad shape in the coming months and years if this plays out like it look like it will. Instead, I'm going to do what Natives always do: we adapt, survive, and carry on. What that exactly means in this situation, I don't know, but I have ideas and in the coming months, I'll be working on those behind the scenes. For now, we have a "fair" amount of inventory of existing games here in the US and Canada, we'll continue working with our digital partners, and we'll be pushing on with Ahu Tiiko - if nothing else to at least get you the PDF. The fate of the print edition is up in the air for the moment, but I will get back to you and all of the backers as my options start to come into focus. I hope you all are planning for your own situations as best you can. We're going to need community to get through this. Stiyu (stay strong)."