GAME denies report it will stop selling physical games, other than fulfilling pre-orders
UPDATE 3.15pm UK: In a further follow-up, a spokesperson for GAME parent company Frasers Group has assured Eurogamer there has been no change in store policy at all with regards to the sale of physical games and consoles.
GAME’s earlier statement had not addressed the potential for some kind of change to pre-order requirements – or some other move that might have prompted the original, erroneous report this morning. GAME has now told Eurogamer there’s no changes to pre-order requirements either.
UPDATE 12.15pm UK: Speaking to Eurogamer, GAME has categorically denied the report published earlier today which stated the chain would stop selling boxed games and consoles in its stores.
In a statement provided to Eurogamer, the brand said it would continue to sell a “wide range” of boxed games in store and online. We’ve followed up for more detail on whether any of these sales will still require a pre-order, as previously reported.
“This reporting is categorically not true,” a GAME spokesperson told Eurogamer today. “GAME continues to support the physical gaming market, offering a wide-range of physical games, hardware, software, accessories and digital gift cards, in stores and online.”
ORIGINAL STORY 11.30am UK:
Beleagured high street chain GAME will no longer sell physical games, other than fulfilling pre-orders.
That’s according to a Gfinity report which states that upcoming new launches will need to be pre-ordered before launch to be picked up in store.
The same is true of video game consoles, the report goes on, suggesting that outside of hardware launches you will no longer be able to walk into a shop and buy a Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S off the shelf.
Eurogamer has contacted GAME for more detail.
The move would be the latest radical change to GAME’s operation this year, following the end of both its long-running trade-in scheme – meaning you can no longer buy or exchange pre-owned games – and the shutdown of its GAME Elite reward programme.
Earlier this year, Eurogamer reported how many GAME staff had been moved to zero-hour contracts, with others made redundant.
Eurogamer understands the changes to GAME are part of a wider move to operate the brand largely within concession units for other stores owned by its parent company the Frasers Group – such as Sports Direct.
Much of GAME’s floor space and sales are now taken up by toys and collectables such as Funko Pops. Still, a GAME where you can’t even buy physical games is the chain’s most surprising move yet.
