How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

New US tariffs have hit the world, and the tabletop gaming industry is bracing for impact. Every company (including us) will be doing a thorough analysis of how the recent US tariffs will affect their business, and then plan accordingly.

Of the raft of global tariffs on US imports declared yesterday, two in particular affect the tabletop gaming industry--the tariffs on the EU and on China.

The new tariff on goods manufactured in the EU is 20%, while those which originate in China are 34%. This is in addition to a recent 20% tariff on China, raising that level to 54%.

The tariff applies to the place of origin of a product, not the country where the company is registered. Many game companies in Europe, the UK, and Scandinavia print books in the EU; and more complex products which require boxes or other components, including those from game companies in the US, often come from China. The tariff on UK-produced products is 10%, but most UK-based companies print in the EU and China.

There is something called the 'de minimis threshold', and generally shipments below that value do not incur tariffs. In the US that is currently $800, and it mainly affects individual orders bought from overseas. However, that no longer applies to goods made in China. It also won't help with shipments of inventory (such as a print run) shipped to a US warehouse from the EU. When somebody in the US orders a book from, say, a UK game company, that order will often be fulfilled from inventory stored in a US warehouse rather than shipped directly from the UK. That US inventory will have incurred the tariff when it was shipped as part of a larger shipment.

A shipment of our books from our printer in the EU​

Of course, these aren't the only way that tariffs can affect prices. Even products manufactured in the US might use materials or components from China, Canada, or the EU, and that will affect the production cost of those products. For example, a US printer which uses paper sources in Canada is going to have increased costs. DriveThruRPG's print-on-demand costs have already increased by as much as 50% in the US.

How might game companies go about handling these increased costs?

• Eat the tariff themselves. That might be possible in some instances, but the size of them will likely make that non-feasible. Most game products do not have a 54% profit margin.​
• Manufacture in the US. That solution might be feasible but runs into a couple of barriers. (1) US printing costs tend to be higher; (2) goods would then have to be exported to the EU, Canada, and other countries, which may have reciprocal tariffs in place; (3) US printing capacity isn't up to the task (remember printers don't just print games--we're talking books); (4) US non-book game component manufacture capacity is even more difficult; (5) splitting a print run between a US and EU or Chinese printer greatly reduces the per-unit manufacture cost as the volume at each location will be halved; (6) as the recent DTRPG printing cost increase shows, even US printers use raw materials from elsewhere.​
• Pass the cost along to customers. This, unfortunately, is probably going to be the most feasible result. This means that the price of games will be going up.​

It gets really difficult when the production/shipping process straddles the tariff. 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.

I suspect in the future, in these days of sudden tariffs, companies will hold back on charging for shipping right up until the last minute. And that's also bad news for customers, as they won't know the shipping price of a game until it's about to ship. This might also mean a shift towards digital sales which--currently--are not affected.

Most game companies are likely crunching numbers and planning right now. It is not known how long the tariffs will be in effect for, or what retaliatory tariffs countries will put in place against US goods. But this is a global issue which is going to drastically affect the tabletop gaming industry (along with most every other industry, but this is a TTRPG news site!)

Steve Jackson Games posted about the tariffs (the site seems to be experiencing high traffic at the time of writing)--

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.

Note: please keep discussion to the effect of tariffs on the game industry. This forum isn't the place to discuss international politics.

 

[Clint_L]

Another aspect to consider are potential, or actual boycotts. Canadians right now are flat out boycotting a lot of American products, as are Danes, and that is filtering throughout Europe.

So basically, things are a mess and our hobby is probably going to be changed along with everything else.

 

[MGibster]

Games Workshop (an expensive luxury goods miniatures company) would like to counter that their revenue only went up during economically difficult periods, during the Great Recession (2008) and the pandemic (2020) their revenue only went up. The same was true for Hasbro during those periods...

I know GW has a distribution center here in the United States, at least one in Memphis, but I don't know if they actually produce anything here. You're not wrong about GW doing well, I got back into 40k specifically because the pandemic left me with a lot of time on my hands and I started painting in earnest again. In 2023, I spent approximately $1,300 on miniatures. Between 2021 and 2022, I spent about $1,000 on Imperial Knights alone. I stopped playing 40k again because I cannot keep up with the frequent changes to the rules. I step away for a few months and when I come back so many things are different.

I am very curious to see if there's a breaking point for Games Workshop. At some point, people will stop buying their miniatures either because they're too expensive or they simply don't have the disposable income they once had.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I don't know if they actually produce anything here

They don't.

The method they use to make the very detailed and perhaps overly-complicated minis they do is pretty expensive to set up, so they're all manufactured in the UK (in Nottingham), not out of some nationalistic fervour or the like, but simple practicality. Their rulebooks etc. are printed in China though, for the most part.

Either way the UK is currently on the "minimum" (lol) tariff but I would expect GW to translate a 10% increase on their wholesale into a larger increase on what they were charging.

I am very curious to see if there's a breaking point for Games Workshop.

The US is 41% of GW sales, and it's already kind of a rich man's game. A, say, 15-20% price increase in the US is going to price some people out of the market, or encourage them to 3D print or the like, but will it be enough to "break" GW? I severely doubt it. Their profit margins aren't exactly thin (40% operating margin last I heard, after everything).

GW just don't have any real competitors. There was a time in the late 1990s and 2000s when it looked like some might emerge, with Iron Kingdoms and errr whatever that French (I think?) fantasy one was called, but GW upped their game in terms of mini quality and just really did well with marketing to "the youth" so it didn't happen. It's not like someone is poised in the wings with a similar enough IP and similar quality minis to just take over - and particularly not anyone in the US.

The world economy dropping might go worse for them, but even then, I think their operating margin is enough that they'll just have to stop increasing prices so frequently. If people get so poor luxury goods in general stop being viable, then GW will be just one of countless casualties (which will probably include Kickstarter and similar outfits, as well as most videogame publishers).

 

[Remathilis]

The US is still a pretty big paper producer I believe. I think we even used to be the top paper producer (though I am pretty Sure China has overtaken us). When I was a kid I remember driving by paper mills in the north east (they have a distinct odor). But a lot of paper is imported I believe. I am trying to find out what the situation for my present arrangements and see if any of this will impact the publishing I do.

I was under the impression Canada is a big pulp producer, so even most American publishing uses Canadian paper/pulp.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I was under the impression Canada is a big pulp producer, so even most American publishing uses Canadian paper/pulp.

I think both the US and Canada are big pulp producers. But pretty sure the US makes more. Must emphasize, this is my impression, I could be wrong. And that doesn't mean Canadian paper/pulp isn't being used in the US (it may be more affordable or a certain quality). It is a little tricky getting reliable information though

 

[Clint_L]

Pulp and paper are the least of the issues facing companies like Hasbro - if Hasbro is reduced to relying on printing books, it is already bankrupt. It's still primarily a toy company. If these tariffs become the new normal, American toy companies, and gaming companies, are in big, big trouble, as many folks who work in those industries are pointing out.

Yes, RPGs mostly rely on printing, but miniatures, tokens, dice, etc. almost all come from China, one way or another. There's no way to shift that to the US at the scales required in the short term, or even in the long term without massively increased costs from labour alone. A lot of companies will just be doomed. Setting the high cost of labour aside, American industry does not have the expertise or equipment to make most of the products that have long since been outsourced, or were never made in America to begin with.

Take Dwarven Forge - a company that I love and heavily support. Their entire business model is built around plastic manufacturing and finishing (painting, etc.) that, expensive as it is, is only feasible because it is all done in China. All of their moulds are held by the Chinese factory that produces their terrain; those moulds alone are a huge capital investment. DF, like more and more companies in the gaming space, is supported by a Kickstarter model, but that probably just went out the window. I think they have no future unless a deal is struck, and they are just one example. And that really sucks.

 

[MGibster]

Yes, RPGs mostly rely on printing, but miniatures, tokens, dice, etc. almost all come from China, one way or another. There's no way to shift that to the US at the scales required in the short term, or even in the long term without massively increased costs from labour alone. A lot of companies will just be doomed. Setting the high cost of labour aside, American industry does not have the expertise or equipment to make most of the products that have long since been outsourced, or were never made in America to begin with.

On the bright side, high tariffs might be just the motivation I need to tackle all my unpainted projects here at home. I am considering making a few discrete purchases of paint and perhaps some miniatures. But I have to temper such expenditures as I'm also worried everything else in my life is about to get a lot more expensive.

 

[Andrew Anderson]

I suppose it's too late to get into 3d printing, because all the 3d printers and filament are imported. But I suspect selling STL files is going to be the new hot thing? Or laser engraving tokens?

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

I suppose it's too late to get into 3d printing, because all the 3d printers and filament are imported. But I suspect selling STL files is going to be the new hot thing? Or laser engraving tokens?

Hard to be sure. If home printers and supplies for them get slammed, then those STL files aren't going to be very useable unless you have access to a printing service (either commercial or through a library) - and they won't be immune to tariff effects either, so their costs will go up. 3D printing and STL files have been spreading steadily in that part of the hobby for years now, but this whole mess may bite them badly as well.

OTOH, they started with such an enormous per-mini cost advantage over traditional or injection-molded plastic minis they could take quite a big price hike and still remain competitive - just somewhat less so.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I suppose it's too late to get into 3d printing, because all the 3d printers and filament are imported. But I suspect selling STL files is going to be the new hot thing? Or laser engraving tokens?

People still need to be able to buy the resin to put in their 3d printers. Who knows where that comes from? And the containers that transport the resin? And the little metal widgets?

The thing that became apparent in the UK post-Brexit is just how complicated and interdependently international supply chains had become. Which lead to shortages, which led to panic buying, which led to the end of civilisation due to the lack of soft toilet paper.