GameStop Close To Shutting Down Operation!

After closing more than 1,000 stores last year—almost a quarter of the company's total—GameStop recently announced that it is not finished yet. According to a new regulatory filing, GameStop will shut down several outlets in different locations in the next few months. Although they have not specified which ones, the message remains the same: The gradual fading keeps going. The majority of the closures have occurred in the United States. Approximately 2,300 stores remain in operation after 590 recently closed.

Meanwhile, more than 330 establishments were shuttered in Europe. Together, Australia and Canada lost about 50. Considering they were approaching 6,000 locations barely ten years ago, GameStop's current total store count of 3,203 is really mind-blowing. We can safely assume that the days of visiting GameStop to purchase a used copy of Halo 3 or exchange multiple games for 12 shop credits are becoming a distant memory.

The truth is that GameStop has endured years of adaptation pains. Physical games aren't as popular as they once were. Cloud gaming, digital downloads, online shops, subscription services—the landscape changed dramatically, and GameStop couldn't keep up.

That brings us to the entire meme stock issue from 2021. Thanks to the internet, GameStop became a symbol, stock prices skyrocketed, headlines flew, some people became millionaires, and hearts fell. However, the tidal wave passed, and the world has returned to normalcy. However, this is where things start to get strange. What if GameStop invested our money in Bitcoin instead of doubling down on retail? That's what they're proposing now.

In the same filing, they also hinted that they may begin to put some of their money—or perhaps future money—into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The plan is to hold it as a reserve asset for the government, similar to how Tesla and other tech businesses experimented with cryptocurrency while they were on a roll.

According to retail expert Neil Saunders, GameStop is trying to stave off irrelevance by getting involved in the cryptocurrency market. This is so far removed from being a retail play that they're attempting to change it into an investment vehicle. Yet, the launch of cryptocurrency was well-received by the market.

Following the news's release, GameStop's stock price increased by 16% in premarket trading. They're still riding high on the same meme stock sentiments that got them there first. In the grand scheme of things, though, GameStop is fading from existence, one closed location at a time.