Since the 2010s, Origins has continued to innovate and make the convention feel unique compared to other gaming events.  One way they have done this is by adding themes for the show.  The first of these was Victoriana in 2011, and in the years since then the convention has often had a unique theme to try and color the event.  With the theme of Monster in 2014, Origins introduced their new mascot, Crit.  This small fuzzy orange creature has returned every year since to promote the show and its theme and of course has its own plushie.  

Origins continued to expand through the 2010s, hitting its highest attendance figure of over 19,000 gamers for its 2019 show.  Then, in 2020, the world shut down and Origins with it thanks to the COVID 19 pandemic.  When people began to quarantine in March, there was still some hope that conventions a few months out could happen.  It quickly became apparent this was not a short term problem, however, and GAMA decided to pivot and attempt to host an online convention in June in lieu of the planned physical event and move an in-person Origins to October of that year.  Unfortunately the online convention did not manifest, as things fell apart partially because several in the game industry began to pull out of the convention after GAMA failed to make a statement on the Black Lives Matter Movement that was occuring.  GAMA corrected this, but it was too late to save Origins Online, and shortly after it became apparent that an October event would not be able to happen either.  As a result, 2020 is the one year since 1975 that no Origins was held.

The following year provided new opportunities for Origins and other conventions that had been forced to pivot in 2020.  Though things were still not safe enough to hold the convention in June as it normally was, plans were made to hold Origins, partnered with the video game focused GDEX, in the fall over September 30 to October 3.  The convention was a much smaller affair, with the gamers sharing the convention center with two other events that were held that same week.  Still, the more than 10,000 who came were happy to be back together with their fellow gamers to play in person again, even if they did have to wear masks to attend and keep each other safe.  

Since 2021 Origins has continued to climb back in scale.  Though people were still cautious around the 2022 convention, they have come back in much greater numbers for the 2023 and 2024 shows.  Though the just under 18,000 that came in 2024 were not enough to eclipse the 2019 peak, more people have been generally attending gaming conventions ever since fears from the COVID 19 pandemic have diminished.  Is the 50th anniversary show in 2025 the year to break that attendance record and help Origins to move into a new stage of growth?  Hopefully, you will be one of the lucky ones to attend this June and find out in person.

 

Information for this history largely came from Origin’s programs, the oral histories conducted for this project, and from two books.  If you are interested in learning more about the history of tabletop gaming and game conventions I recommend you check out these titles.  The first book is Game Wizards by Jon Peterson, released by MIT Press in 2021, and the second is Gathering of Gamers by Matt Shoemaker, with an upcoming release by Play Story Press later in the summer of 2025.