Belgian Warhammer Player Boycotting Warhammer World Championships in Act of Political Activism

A lucky player has turned down an invitation to the Warhammer World Championships. This prestigious competitive event is one of the biggest in the game’s history, and the reason for the player’s refusal is political and ethical activism.

The Warhammer World Championships Boycott

In a thread of posts on Bluesky social, Belgian Warhammer player Quentin Dubus stated that he had received a golden ticket for the Warhammer World Championships after competing at a recent Age of Sigmar tournament. This is an all-expenses-paid invitation to an event where you represent your country on the world stage.

However, as the thread continues, Dubus states that he will not attend the event. The Warhammer World Championships are being held in the United States, a country currently acting extremely hostile to foreign visitors of all stripes. So hostile that certain indie studios are cancelling convention plans because they feel unsafe.

Dubus explicitly states the reason for his boycott is because of these authoritarian actions by the US government. He says he refuses to travel to a country lead by someone whose policies harm trans people, marginalized communities, and the environment. The thread even ends on a call to action by Games Workshop, saying the act of hosting the event in the US sends a mixed message of community values.

Current events aside, Games Workshop has had to confront similar criticism in the past. Their vastly popular sci-fi far future franchise, Warhammer 40,000 is routinely expressed with maximalist fascist iconography. While originally intended to be satire, these trappings do attract more bigoted communities to form. So much so that Games Workshop keeps restating a simple tagline, “Warhammer is for everybody.”

Dubus is not alone in his boycott of the Warhammer World Championships. In a report by Wargamer, other international players have turned down their golden ticket in solidarity with Dubus’ decision. These include Australian Kill Team player Emma Hallinan, and Swedish player Konstantinos Kellis.