GameStop to Close Several U.S. Stores

Summary

• GameStop is quietly closing stores across the US, leaving customers and employees shocked and disappointed.
• The company's physical store count has dropped by nearly a third, signaling a significant decline.
• Social media platforms are buzzing with reports from customers and employees about these closures, indicating a worrying future for GameStop.

GameStop, the world's largest physical retailer of new and used video games, is closing many of its stores across the United States with little to no warning, leaving loyal customers in a state of shock and disappointment. Although there has been no official announcement from GameStop about an increase in store closures, customers and employees have been actively sharing news of their newly or soon-to-be-closed stores on social media since the beginning of the year.

Originally known as Babbage's, GameStop has a rich history spanning over 44 years. The first store opened in a Dallas, Texas suburb in August 1980, backed financially by former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot. At its peak in 2015, GameStop boasted more than 6,000 stores worldwide and reported annual sales of approximately $9 billion. However, the rise of digital game sales over the past nine years has led to a significant decline, and by February 2024, the number of GameStop's physical locations had decreased by nearly one-third, leaving around 3,000 stores in the United States, according to data from ScrapeHero.

Following a regulatory report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2024, which suggested further store closures were on the horizon, both customers and employees have taken to platforms like Twitter and Reddit to share their experiences with closed locations. For instance, Twitter user @one-big-boss expressed his disappointment over the closure of his favorite store, which he believed was still thriving. He viewed this closure as a foreboding sign for less busy locations. Similarly, a Canadian employee criticized the "ridiculous goals" set by the company's management in deciding which stores to keep open.

GameStop Customers Keep Seeing Stores Close

The trend of GameStop store closures continues to highlight the company's decline. A Reuters report from March 2024 predicted a grim 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 drop in revenue, or about $432 million, compared to the same period in 2022.

In recent years, GameStop has attempted various strategies to reverse its fortunes, from expanding into video game-related toys and apparel to exploring new ventures like phone trade-ins and trading card grading. The shift of its customer base to online gaming has prompted these efforts. In 2021, the company received a significant boost 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.