GameStop Closing Down “Significant Number” of Stores

Video game retailer GameStop has decided to close down a “significant number” of its 3200 stores across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company has been struggling to keep the lights on for quite some time, with its decline in performance being noted as early as 2010. In the past couple of years, the brand went through a short squeeze, which was triggered by Reddit users and caused a spike in the stock market price by over half. While the 2023 movie Dumb Money shed light on the ‘meme stock’ moment, it seems that GameStop’s success has fallen once again, now reverting its store closure investments into cryptocurrency.

For those who have been aware of GameStop’s movements these past few months, the company has shifted to becoming more of an online marketplace as the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, and other digital retailers have steadily been the go-to place to purchase games. Physical games can still be purchased online or in-store, but as the stores have been lacking support from consumers, there aren’t many still around to go to. While GameStop shut down its NFT marketplace last year, it seems that it’s now looking to get back into the Bitcoin market.

RELATED: Game Informer Returns After Break Up With GameStop

As for the store closures, CNN has announced that over 1,000 stores will reportedly be closed across the world, with the company noting that it’s “not close to done.” No specific stores have been named yet, but the percentage of closures is around 31.11% of its total, which will decrease the store count to around 2,200 stores. This is a noticeable decrease in the market it had once before, which saw GameStop operating over 6,000 stores worldwide. This news comes after the latest store closures in February, which had over 400 shops closed due to sales.

When it comes to GameStop’s plans for the future, CNN has reported that the company plans to move away from the retail market and invest in Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. With the company in debt, they might see this opportunity as a way to cash in reserves to buy Bitcoin to get themselves out of their hole. As is typical with Bitcoin market investment announcements like these, the stock price shares increased by 16% following the reveal. At the current moment, the shares have dropped a scathing 15%, with Reuters noting that investors are questioning the Bitcoin pivot as a lack of confidence in their business model.

Seeing how GameStop is taking the cryptocurrency route, investors’ concerns are understandable, given the company has dropped in shares by 23% this year, according to Reuters. The decision by GameStop to invest in Bitcoin does feel telling, as the crypto market has seen a fluctuating increase in price since the presidential election. The continuous store closures are disheartening, considering this decision puts many GameStop employees out of work. Whether or not this was a worthy option for the company is still up in the air.

What do you think about GameStop closing its stores? Do you think they’ll fare well in the bitcoin currency shares? Let us know what you think in the comments below!