The Texas anime con staple A-Kon has been canceled due to funding issues, but is no longer in forfeiture

[Editor's Note: This story has been updated since its original publication on February 20 to include developments since that date.]

The longest-running anime convention in North America isn't happening this year as planned. A-Kon, the Texas-based convention, has canceled its 2024 event.

"It is with heavy hearts that we are announcing the postponement of A-Kon 33," writes the organizers. "This wasn't an easy decision, but we believe it's the best way to ensure we can come back stronger and offer the experience you deserve."

At its height, A-Kon boasted nearly 35,000 attendees to its annual show - and became one of the major anime conventions in not only North America, but the world.

According to the event's organizers, the convention has been beset by challenges due to the pandemic as well as its own unspecified "unique challenges" that predated the pandemic. Less than a year before the pandemic, A-Kon was acquired by B2B convention organizer Frank Powell, president of the events company eventPower.

During the pandemic the event canceled both its 2020 and 2021 events, with A-Kon recruiting a slate of investors - dubbed its 'board of investors' - to keep the convention financially afloat. But now in 2024 according to A-Kon, those investors have "run into their own funding delays" while the convention had set its hopes on government subsidiaries from the state of Texas that hasn't arrived.

As of the news of A-Kon's cancelation in early February, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts's website listed A-Kon LLC. as in forfeiture - which in the state of Texas, is "for failure to file a franchise tax report and/or pay franchise taxes." According to the Comptroller's website, companies under forfeiture can no longer conduct business in the state - and further, it will be denied the right to sue or defend itself in a Texas court, and each of the company's directors and officers are held liable for any debt the company has incurred.

As of February 26 however, A-Kon is no longer in forfeiture with the Texas state government acccording to the Comproller's website.

"Our team has worked tirelessly, exploring every option to make the con happen on our anticipated dates," writes the organizers. "However, recently the staff came together as a family while we waited on news on funding, and agreed that while we're confident we could plan an awesome con in the few months we have, it would not be the quality experience we want to provide."

This follows the cancellation of the annual Crunchyroll Expo this time last year, and San Francisco's SiliCon due to financial issues as well.

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