Financial reports from GameStop claim that the main reason why the company’s sales numbers are down is due to a lack of games coming out recently. In the document, GameStop points fingers at publishers and long development cycles as the main culprits of low sales.
GameStop is currently facing a crisis. The American game store, which was founded in the 80s, is the largest game retailer in the world, but it does not seem to be passing unscathed from the current digitalization of the gaming industry. Unable to compete with online stores or services like the Xbox Game Pass, GameStop is shutting down stores in countries like Ireland and has received increasingly common complaints from employees. Worse yet, it does not seem that the situation is getting much better.
In a financial report to its investors, GameStop criticized publishers and claimed that its sales were low due to not many AAA games being for sale. The report, which states that the company still managed to make a profit in 2022, also stated that sales were down by 1.4% when compared to the previous year. According to the report, games are taking longer to come out recently due to longer development cycles, which has a direct impact on sales. So, the company is restructuring, which includes GameStop laying off employees to cut costs.
The report also took some time to blame publishers for the crisis, stating that the business needs developers to put out games and hardware quickly enough to meet customer demand in order to work well. GameSpot also complained to investors that a few companies that were known for releasing multi-platform titles were acquired by console manufacturers recently, which could lead to new games being available in a more limited capacity soon. It seems clear that the company is talking about Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Bethesda, for instance, and will keep the upcoming Starfield only for PC and Xbox.
Ever since it became a “meme stock” on Reddit, GameStop has been at the center of many financial controversies. Back in 2021, Redditors used the platform to collectively invest in the stock, pumping it to a very high value before it started to drop again. Since then, the stocks have not been as valuable, but last week, GameStop prices spiked once more, surging 42.95% in a single day. The change, however, is not attributed to stock manipulation, but to the profits that were reported recently.
Source: Kotaku