Gen Con, LLC filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the State of Washington on Friday.  The filing comes in the wake of a lawsuit by Lucasfilm related to the Star Wars Celebration show in Los Angeles last year (see 'Lucasfilm  Sues Gen Con').  Gen Con alluded to the show in its announcement of the filing.  'This action became necessary as a result of significant unforeseen expenses associated with attempts to expand its core business to encompass externally licensed events,' the announcement said. 

The company also canceled its Southern California version of GenCon last year (see 'GenCon SoCal Canceled'), citing disappointing results. 

Gen Con's flagship show, Gen Con Indy, will proceed as scheduled August 14-17th and the company will continue to operate without interruption, according to the announcement. 

The company explained the reason for the filing.  'The protections afforded by Chapter 11 will allow Gen Con to further its efforts to address its liquidity needs, preserve value for its creditors and explore strategic alternatives for the business,' it said. 

CEO Peter Adkison expressed confidence in the outcome.  'Because the fundamentals of our business are strong; and because our debt problems are challenges mostly linked to one-time events,' he said, 'we feel confident that the profile of our company will benefit under Chapter 11 and come out strong in the end.' 

In an open letter (see 'Open Letter from Peter Adkison on Gen Con Chapter 11'), Adkison said they will continue to focus on Gen Con Indy, which is reliably profitable event for them.