The Trump tariffs continue, leaving the tabletop industry reeling and tempest-tossed as Funko, Cephalofair, and others bunker down.
Another week goes by with no relief in sight for the beleaguered tabletop industry. The Trump tariffs continue their economic devastation, as even titans in the industry like Funko and Cephalofair Games struggle to meet exorbitant taxes placed on their goods without representation, and in the case of Cephalofair, without much recourse. This follows on the news of CMON halting game development and announcing layoffs amid the economic turmoil the current president has thrown the industry into.
Trump Tariffs Tax Tabletop Titans
As a reminder, a tariff is a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports. If you would like more of a primer, we’ve covered this topic before. The Trump tariffs are hitting the economy as a whole, but the tabletop industry is especially vulnerable owing to the nature of its products. Case in point, even Cephalofair Games, makers of Gloomhaven, and Funko, announced they are struggling to deal with the ongoing chaos of the tariffs.
Funko revealed some of the steps it was scrambling to take in its latest quarterly report, and it sounds grim. As ICv2 reports, the company revealed it had cut its workforce by about 20% over two different waves, one in March and one this month.
On top of that, Funko has increased prices, including on its POP! figures, which have gone from $12 to $14.99. Other “crisis management” steps have included pausing all outbound shipments from China and looking to shift manufacturing from China to “other Asian sources.”
Meanwhile it is only gloom with no haven in sight for Cephalofair games. According to a Facebook post from Cephalofair COO Price Johnson, it seems that businesses are having difficulty even meeting with their elected representatives to try and seek solutions or voice their concerns.
“Feeling hopeless and upset after my latest attempt to schedule a meeting with my Congressman’s office today. Today, as a member of my local Chamber of Commerce, I attended our local ‘Government Relations Meeting’. A forum our Congressman’s Disctrict Representative normally attends and provides updates and fields questions. […]
The response today was disheartening, insensitive, and left me feeling even less hopeful.”
As Johnson explains, the District Representative “avoided eye contact” in an attempt to ignore the COO’s question. When the room demanded that the District Representative, Jack Thompson, answer the question, Thompson publicly committed to scheduling a meeting but privately revealed that he was not in a position to do so. Eventually, Johnson did get a meeting after the post gained traction and attention online.
Johnson previously talked about the company’s challenges with CNN.
This comes alongside an update to the latest Gloomhaven Kickstarter, which has begun shipping to everywhere but the US right now, again, due to tariff concerns. So if you live in the EU, UK, CA, and NZ/AU regions, you can expect to see your copy of the game before too terribly long.
US backers might want to try reaching out to their elected representatives, because these tariffs were enacted with limited authority delegated to the president decades ago; the US Constitution puts the power to levy taxes in the hands of Congress, which could end these tariffs at any moment if it so chooses.
Stonemaier Games Speaks Out
Finally, Stonemaier Games’ co-founder, Jaime Stegmaier, answers questions about the long-term impacts of the Trump tariffs, including some harrowing predictions about the outcome of the tabletop industry in the US. As the tariffs continue, Stegmaier predicts that publishers will have no choice but to stop making the US a primary focus for its product, since it makes no economic sense to focus on an area where a business must pay an additional $14.50 for every $10 they spend just to make a product in the first place:
“In the short term, we’re going to see some businesses cease operations because they don’t have the cash reserves to pay for tariffs, rendering them unableto receive products they’ve already invested in. This summer, we will see prices increase on many consumer products, and there will be fewer products available to buy because companies are storing them in China in the hopes that tariffs will change.
[…] Instead of putting the US market first for English-language games, publishers must now prioritize other countries. This includes an increased focus on non-US distribution, region-friendly shipping, and seeking more localization partners. It also involves research: what types of games sell well in X country?”
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It sounds dire for consumers in the US, but Stonemaier Games has recently joined a lawsuit against the president over the tariffs. No further details on that case are forthcoming, but it is a story many in the industry are following with interest.
It sounds like the US will lose its place at the center of the games industry market if things don’t change. It’s always a good time to contact your elected officials.
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