Summary
- GameStop is silently closing stores in the US, leaving customers and employees shocked and disappointed.
- The decline of GameStop is evident as its physical locations have decreased by almost a third.
- Customers and employees are sharing closures on social media platforms, hinting at a troubling future for the company.
GameStop, the world's largest physical retailer of new and used video games, appears to be closing many of its stores across the United States with little to no warning. This has left loyal customers shocked and disappointed. Although GameStop has not officially announced an increase in store closures, both customers and employees have been actively reporting newly or soon-to-be-closed stores on social media since the beginning of the year.
With a history spanning over 44 years, GameStop originated as Babbage's, opening its first location in a Dallas, Texas suburb in August 1980 with financial backing from former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot. At its peak in 2015, the brand boasted more than 6,000 worldwide locations and reported approximately $9 billion in annual sales. However, the shift to digital game sales over the past nine years has led to a significant decline. As of February 2024, GameStop's physical locations have been reduced by nearly one-third, with around 3,000 stores remaining in the United States, according to data from ScrapeHero.
Following a December 2024 regulatory report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which suggested further store closures, both customers and employees have been sharing their discoveries of closed locations on platforms like Twitter and Reddit. For instance, Twitter user @one-big-boss expressed dismay over the closure of his favorite store, which he considered a reliable source for affordable games and consoles. He noted that the store seemed popular and successful, interpreting its closure as a foreboding sign for less-busy locations. Additionally, some employees, including a Canadian worker, have voiced frustrations over "ridiculous goals" set by the company's higher-ups, which are used to determine which stores to keep open.
GameStop Customers Keep Seeing Stores Close
The trend of reported closed GameStop locations continues to highlight the retailer's decline. A March 2024 Reuters report predicted a bleak future for GameStop, noting that the company had closed 287 stores in the previous year. This followed a fourth-quarter 2023 report showing a nearly 20 percent revenue drop, or about $432 million, compared to the same period in 2022.
Over the years, GameStop has attempted various strategies to reverse its fortunes, from expanding into video game-related toys and apparel to exploring new industries like phone trade-ins and trading card grading. The company also received a significant boost in 2021 from a group of amateur investors on Reddit, an event documented in the Netflix documentary Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga and the film Dumb Money. Despite these efforts, the shift of its customer base to online gaming purchases continues to challenge GameStop's future.
