GameStop closing hundreds of stores amid retail shakeup

6 days ago 8

Daniel Kline

Tue, January 6, 2026 astatine 11:33 AM CST 5 min read

Blockbuster Video died due to the fact that Netflix eliminated the request to spell to a video rental store. Once you could watercourse movies to your home, physically visiting a store to prime up a DVD, which you past had to return, made precise small sense.

As idiosyncratic who grew up successful the VHS era, I bash miss the days erstwhile the clerks astatine Photographics, the video rental store successful my hometown of Swampscott, Mass., could urge a movie for maine to watch.

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Something was mislaid erstwhile brick-and-mortar rental stores closed, but knowledgeable clerks were ne'er going to marque up for the inconvenience of having to physically sojourn a store.

Video crippled retailers are mostly successful the aforesaid position. I tin download immoderate caller merchandise from my home, truthful wherefore would I sojourn a store conscionable to beryllium capable to get a disc of a crippled that comes with packaging?

"In 2023, integer crippled income accounted for implicit 75% of full video crippled gross globally, according to Ampere Analysis. This inclination has lone accelerated with faster net speeds, unreality gaming services, and exclusive integer releases," Alibaba reported.

This is atrocious quality for retailers that merchantability video crippled software.

"As less customers sojourn stores to bargain carnal copies, GameStop’s halfway concern exemplary — relying connected disc-based crippled income and trade-ins — has go progressively unsustainable," the tract added.

That's mostly wherefore GameStop has been shrinking its retail store portfolio since 2024.

While GameStop's concern exemplary whitethorn marque constricted sense, the institution has capitalized connected being a meme banal to replenish its currency holdings.

“GameStop is not successful atrocious shape, particularly arsenic it has a large currency presumption and has present moved backmost into the black,” Neil Saunders, managing director, retail, astatine probe steadfast GlobalData, said successful an interrogation with PYMNTS.

That does not mean the institution is successful a bully place.

“However, income proceed to slide, which raises a question implicit the company’s proposition,” helium added. “GameStop is 1 of those firms wherever you periodically inquire whether it is truly needed arsenic things go much digital. Both hardware and bundle income shrank dramatically this quarter."

Hardware sales, helium noted, could recover, but software, helium shared, volition apt proceed to slide.

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Physical crippled income person continued to drop.

By December 2024, integer games accounted for 95% of the full marketplace worth successful the gaming industry, according to a BCG Matrix investigation of GameStop's business.

<em>Gamestop has closed astir fractional its stores.</em>Shutterstock

Fiscal 2024: GameStop closed 590 stores successful the U.S. unsocial arsenic portion of a store portfolio optimization review, according to PYMNTS.com.
International cuts successful 2024: In summation to U.S. closures, GameStop closed 336 stores successful Europe, 33 successful Australia, and 11 successful Canada during fiscal 2024, added PYMNTS.com.
Continued planetary downsizing: The institution exited markets including Germany and sold its Italian operations, ending those section store operations by the extremity of 2024, arsenic reported by TheStreet.
January 2025: A ample question of closures occurred, including the announced 69 store closures successful Germany arsenic portion of winding down operations, according to GamesMarket.
Multiple idiosyncratic U.S. and Canadian GameStop locations were reported closed successful the archetypal weeks of 2025, from malls successful Michigan to standalone stores successful assorted states and provinces, reported TheStreet.
March 2025: GameStop publically announced it planned to adjacent a “significant number” of further stores during fiscal 2025 (ending Feb 2026), though nary circumstantial totals were disclosed astatine the time, shared PYMNTS.com.
Total closures implicit the preceding 12-month play (through aboriginal 2025) were cited arsenic astir 1,000 planetary locations, with astir 590 successful the U.S. from earlier periods being identified, reported WFTV.
Dec. 2025: GameStop closed its only store successful Grapevine, Texas (city of its headquarters), aft lease expiration, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Early Jan. 2026: Multiple U.S. shops including successful Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Ohio, were closing by aboriginal January 2026, with lease expirations and optimization cited arsenic reasons, shared The Sun.
From a highest of 6,000+ planetary stores successful the mid-2010s, GameStop has reduced its footprint drastically; by aboriginal 2025 it stood astatine astir 3,200 stores worldwide, added WFTV.

As a casual crippled player, I bash inactive sojourn GameStop's stores to look astatine caller releases, but I don't deliberation I person made a acquisition determination successful much than 5 years. The institution itself appears to admit that carnal stores person go little necessary, if not wholly redundant.

“We person besides initiated a broad store portfolio optimization reappraisal which involves identifying stores for closure based connected galore factors, including an valuation of existent marketplace conditions and idiosyncratic store performance,” the institution said successful a 10-K filing with the SEC.

The institution has besides steadily trimmed its planetary footprint.

During fiscal 2023, it exited its operations successful Austria, Ireland, and Switzerland.
During the 4th fourth of fiscal 2024, it closed down store operations successful Germany.
During the 4th fourth of fiscal 2024, it sold its Italian subsidiary, GameStop Italy S.r.l, which operated the chain's Italian stores and e-commerce business.
On February 18, 2025, it announced a program to prosecute a merchantability of its operations successful Canada and France.
Source: Gamestop SEC 10Q

Wedbush expert Michael Pachter does not deliberation GameStop tin past and blames its CEO, Ryan Cohen.

“Mr. Cohen’s apical concealed strategy was (apparently) to ‘be similar Amazon,’ and present that his Amazon executives are gone, it is unclear what strategy is guiding the company,” Pachter told TipRanks. “We stay convinced that GameStop is doomed, with declining carnal bundle income and a displacement of income to subscription services and integer downloads sealing its fate.”

Some analysts bash similar the company's assertive cuts to its expenses.

Stephen Guilfoyle said successful his caller TheStreet Pro file that GameStop “did an fantabulous occupation of cutting backmost connected some the outgo of income and operating expenses, which boosted margins sharply.”

Guilfoyle said GameStop had “one of the strongest equilibrium sheets" 1 volition spot successful firm America.

“Talk astir a turnaround communicative based upon fiscal subject contempt a halfway concern that remains successful decline,” helium added. “This absorption squad has done an outstanding job.”

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This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Jan 6, 2026, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Retail section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.