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GameStop Corp. is an American retailer specializing in video games, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise. Headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, GameStop is the largest video game retailer globally. As of February 2024, the company operates 4,169 stores worldwide, including 2,915 in the United States, 203 in Canada, 404 in Australia, and 647 in Europe, under the GameStop, EB Games, EB Games Australia, Micromania-Zing, ThinkGeek, and Zing Pop Culture brands. Founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage's, the company adopted its current name in 1999.

GameStop's performance declined during the mid-to-late 2010s due to the shift towards online video game sales and unsuccessful investments in smartphone retail. In 2021, retail investors on Reddit noticed that the short interest in GameStop's stock exceeded 100%, dramatically increasing its price from $17.25 to over US$500 per share. According to the SEC report, this volatility was only partially attributed to the buying power of retail investors. The company gained significant media attention during January and February 2021 due to the volatility of its stock price, known as the GameStop short squeeze. GameStop is currently ranked 577th on the Fortune 500. The company previously owned and published the video game magazine Game Informer, which it discontinued in August 2024.

GameStop's history stretches back to Babbage's, a software retailer founded in Dallas, Texas, on August 20, 1980, by former Harvard Business School classmates James McCurry and Gary M. Kusin. The company, named after Charles Babbage, opened its first store in Dallas's NorthPark Center with the support of Ross Perot, an early investor. Babbage's quickly shifted its focus to video game sales, capitalizing on the popularity of the Atari 2600. The company began selling Nintendo games in 1987 and went public via an initial public offering in 1988. By 1991, video games comprised two-thirds of Babbage's sales.

In 1994, Babbage's merged with Software Etc., a Minnesota-based retailer specializing in personal computing software, forming NeoStar Retail Group. The merger involved a stock swap, with shareholders of both companies receiving shares of the newly formed holding company. Babbage's and Software Etc. continued to operate as independent subsidiaries of NeoStar, retaining their respective management teams. James McCurry, Babbage's founder and chairman, became chairman of NeoStar, while Gary Kusin and Daniel DeMatteo, presidents of Babbage's and Software Etc., respectively, kept their positions. Leonard Riggio, chairman of Software Etc., became chairman of NeoStar's executive committee.

Gary Kusin resigned as president of Babbage's in February 1995 to pursue a cosmetics venture. Daniel DeMatteo, previously president of Software Etc., assumed Kusin's responsibilities and was promoted to president and chief operating officer of NeoStar. James McCurry was also appointed as NeoStar's CEO. The company relocated its headquarters from Dallas to Grapevine later that year.

In May 1996, amid declining sales, NeoStar merged its Babbage's and Software Etc. units into a single organization. Daniel DeMatteo resigned as president, and James McCurry assumed the role of president in addition to his role as CEO. In September, facing difficulties securing credit for holiday inventory, NeoStar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and appointed Thomas G. Plaskett as chairman. James McCurry remained CEO and president.

Despite the leadership changes, NeoStar's fortunes did not improve. In November 1996, Leonard Riggio, founder of Software Etc. and chairman of Barnes & Noble, purchased NeoStar's assets for $58.5 million. Electronics Boutique had also bid for NeoStar, but Riggio's bid was accepted as it preserved 108 more stores than Electronics Boutique's proposal. Approximately 200 stores were not included in the transaction and were subsequently closed.

Following his purchase of NeoStar's assets, Riggio dissolved the holding company and established a new holding company named Babbage's Etc. He appointed Richard "Dick" Fontaine, former CEO of Software Etc., as CEO of Babbage's Etc., and Daniel DeMatteo became company president and COO. In 1999, Babbage's Etc. launched the GameStop brand with 30 stores in strip malls and introduced gamestop.com, a website for online video game sales, which was promoted in Babbage's and Software Etc. stores.

In October 1999, Barnes & Noble Booksellers acquired Babbage's Etc. for $215 million. A special committee of independent Barnes & Noble directors reviewed and approved the deal, given Riggio's ownership of both companies. A few months later, in May 2000, Barnes & Noble acquired Funco, the owner of FuncoLand, a video game retailer, for $160 million. Babbage's Etc., which had previously been a direct subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Funco. With the Funco acquisition, Barnes & Noble also acquired Game Informer, a video game magazine established in 1991. Funco was renamed GameStop, Inc. in December 2000, in anticipation of an initial public offering.

In February 2002, GameStop, Inc., once again became a public company via an initial public offering. Barnes & Noble maintained control of the newly public company, holding 67% of outstanding shares and 95% of voting shares. Barnes & Noble retained control over GameStop until October 2004, when it distributed its 59% stake in GameStop to Barnes & Noble stakeholders, making GameStop an independent company.

The Gamestop Shortsqueeze - January, 2021

In January 2021, trading activity around a short squeeze resulted in a 1,500% increase in GameStop's share price over the course of two weeks, reaching an all-time intraday high of over US$500.00. As of January 29, 2021, on the New York Stock Exchange. This effect was mainly attributed to short sellers using illegal business practices causing the stock to be shorted over 100 percent of the free float of the company.

There is uncertainty around the size of the effect of short sellers closing their position. The SEC released a report claiming "While a short squeeze did not appear to be the main driver of events, and a gamma squeeze less likely, the episode highlights the role and potential impact of short selling and short covering.

Other news in 2021–2024

In February 2021, GameStop announced that its finance chief Jim Bell, appointed in June 2019, would leave the company on March 26, 2021. Though no official reason was given for Bell's departure, the company said that it did not have to do with a disagreement with the company or its operations.

In April 2021, George Sherman announced that he will step down as CEO of GameStop by July 31, 2021. Also in April 2021, Ryan Cohen, founder of Chewy and a large GameStop shareholder, was named chairman, effective in June 2021.

On June 9, 2021, GameStop appointed former Amazon executives Matt Furlong and Mike Recupero as CEO and CFO respectively. Furlong took over the position of CEO from Sherman on June 21, 2021. Furlong was removed from his position as CEO in June 2023 and replaced by Ryan Cohen.

In July 2022, it was announced that Mike Recupero was fired as CFO. He was replaced by Diana Saadeh-Jajeh, who was the company's chief accounting officer.

In May 2023, it was announced that GameStop was closing down all of its stores in Ireland. In June 2023, all stores had closed, their Irish website closed at 4pm (IST), on June 21, and the remaining stores closed on June 24.

In September 2023, Cohen took over as CEO of the company, in addition to his chairman role, without collecting a salary. In March 2024, it was announced that GameStop would cut an unknown number of staff to achieve profitability. However, the company also noted that these cuts may strain its resources.

NFT platform

On May 26, 2021, GameStop announced that it was working on a non-fungible token (NFT) platform creating a token based on blockchain Ethereum technology. Business Insider reported that "GameStop is building an NFT platform as part of an ambitious plan to transform itself into the Amazon of gaming.

The Beta version of the platform launched on July 11, 2022. The marketplace is curated, with a vetting process in place for artists; in July 2022 GameStop removed an NFT associated with artwork that referenced the photo The Falling Man and removed the ability for the creator's account to mint new NFTs on its platform. In another case, a user sold hundreds of NFTs associated with HTML5 games for which they did not have a license. GameStop removed their minting ability and the listings for the NFTs on their marketplace, although the NFTs themselves remain on the blockchain, the games themselves are on Gamestop's servers and can be sold on other marketplaces.

In December 2022, GameStop laid off a large portion of the team working on the NFT platform. In August 2023, GameStop announced a wind-down of its crypto and NFT wallet citing "regulatory uncertainty". As of December 2023, Gamestop's NFT marketplace still allowed users to trade in-game items using other NFT wallets (such as MetaMask). However, in January 2024, Gamestop ultimately announced that on February 2, 2024, the NFT marketplace would be shuttered completely.

Atrix (formerly @play) is GameStop, Inc.'s in-house store brand. GameStop sells gaming accessories, headsets, mice, and keyboards under the Atrix brand.

Game Informer was a magazine owned by GameStop, Inc. It was discontinued in August 2024. It was primarily sold through subscriptions that could be purchased at GameStop locations. A subscription to the magazine was included for members of GameStop's PowerUp Rewards Pro loyalty program.

GameStop provides its customers cash or trade credit in exchange for unwanted video games, accessories, and tech. The used video game trade-ins have twice the gross margins of new video game sales. Some video game developers and publishers have criticized GameStop for its practices, as they receive no share of the revenue from the sale of used games. GameStop responded to these criticisms in 2009 by stating that 70% of store credit generated by game trade-ins was used to purchase new rather than used games, generating close to $2 billion in annual revenue.

GameStop TV is the in-store television network run internally by GameStop, with non-endemic sales in partnership with Playwire Media. GameStop TV features programming targeted at consumers who are shopping in GameStop stores. Each month brings content segments about upcoming video game releases, exclusive developer interviews, and product demonstrations.

Game publishers obtain more pre-orders by including exclusive in-game or physical bonuses, available only if the player pre-ordered the game. Bonuses typically include extras such as exclusive characters, weapons, and maps. For example, GameStop included an additional avatar costume for Call of Duty: Black Ops when it was released in November 2010, and a pictorial Art-Folio for Metroid: Other M. Soundtracks, artbooks, plushies, figurines, posters, and T-shirts have also been special bonuses.

In January 2016, GameStop announced a partnership with Insomniac Games with its 2016 title Song of the Deep. GameStop executive Mark Stanley said the concept was to help the chain have more direct communication with players and would expect to expand to other similar distribution deals with other developers if this one succeeds. In April 2016, GameStop created the GameTrust Games publishing division to serve as a publisher for mid-sized developers. In April 2016, GameTrust Games announced it was working with Ready At Dawn, Tequila Works, and Frozenbyte to prepare more titles.

In 2022, consulting firm BCG filed a lawsuit against GameStop as the latter allegedly denied payment of a project fee worth $30 million. GameStop argued that it saw it in the best interest of its stakeholders to deny payment as BCG brought little improvement to the EBITDA of the company, which the consultancy allegedly promised to improve. BCG counter-argued that the company has delivered more than it promised in the statement of proposal and that the quoted variable fee was based on the "projected", not realized, improvement in EBITDA, as per the contract.

Ultimately, it turned out that BCG's lawsuit lacked the merit to be carried out in court. GameStop's claim about BCG not having delivered any value and not being owed any money for their supposed "services" was not controversial, and the lawsuit regarding these matters was dismissed with prejudice.

Since 2014, Gamestop has regularly donated money to Autism Speaks' research that could be used for eugenics, despite regular campaigns against this from the autistic community.