GameStop shutters stores across California

GameStop is shutting down much stores successful California.

The video game, artifact and collectible retailer has been struggling to find a mode to thrive successful a marketplace wherever astir of what it sells is easier to get online. It has been shrinking its brick-and-mortar retail footprint for years to little costs and has reportedly unopen dozens of branches successful California.

An unofficial blog tracking store closures estimates that much than 400 GameStop locations, and much than 40 successful California, person closed oregon are slated to adjacent this month.

Calls to 10 GameStop locations crossed the Southland, including successful Inglewood, Canoga Park and Gardena, went unanswered. A recorded connection told callers that store associates were “assisting different customers” and to “call backmost successful a fewer minutes.” One store worker successful a San Francisco Bay Area outlet confirmed that the outlet was closing connected Thursday.

Gamestop’s authoritative store directory showed galore California stores closed each week.

The closures were antecedently disclosed successful the company’s December fiscal filings, though the nonstop fig wasn’t announced. GameStop did not respond to requests for comment.

The Texas-based video crippled retailer’s determination to shed locations was the effect of a “comprehensive store portfolio optimization review” that looked astatine marketplace conditions and idiosyncratic store performance, according to its December Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

GameStop closed 590 stores nationwide during the 2024 fiscal year, according to the filing.

“We expect closing a important fig of further stores successful fiscal 2025,” the institution said successful its December filing. The company’s fiscal twelvemonth ends connected Jan. 31.

GameStop had 2,325 U.S. stores arsenic of Feb. 2025, the institution wrote successful a March filing.

GameStop has struggled arsenic galore customers download video games alternatively of buying carnal copies astatine brick-and-mortar stores, the institution said successful the filing.

“Downloading of video crippled contented to the existent procreation video crippled systems continues to turn and instrumentality an expanding percent of caller video crippled sales,” the institution wrote. “If consumers’ penchant for downloading video crippled contented successful lieu of carnal bundle continues to increase, our concern and fiscal show whitethorn beryllium adversely impacted.”

The company’s difficulties successful staying applicable somewhat echo those of the video concatenation Blockbuster, which has 1 remaining location, and RadioShack, erstwhile a fixture astatine malls crossed America.

GameStop originated successful the 1980s arsenic Babbage’s, a machine store successful Dallas that aboriginal shifted its absorption to video games. The company, which underwent respective acquisitions, including by the publication retailer Barnes & Noble, was aboriginal renamed GameStop.

In 2021, GameStop became the emblematic “meme” banal erstwhile investors drove up stock prices during an online craze amid hopes determination was a mode to salvage the already struggling brand.

The institution has much precocious turned to cryptocurrency. Last May, it announced that it had acquired much than 4,700 Bitcoin, which Reuters estimated astatine the clip to beryllium worthy astir $513 million.

GameStop shares person been volatile implicit the past 12 months. As of Thursday, shares had fallen astir 25% implicit that clip period.