GameStop is surprisingly making more money than ever, but it’s not because of video game sales. In recent years, GameStop has been going through quite a tumultuous time. While it received a windfall of cash in the wake of its stock becoming a “meme” in 2021, this hasn’t stopped the longtime retailer from also being forced to shut down a number of its stores across the United States. And while it seemed likely that this trend would continue, new data suggests that GameStop’s pivot away from video games has actually paid huge dividends.
As of today, GameStop has released its latest financial report and, surprisingly, it ended up breaking records for the company. In the second quarter of its current fiscal year, GameStop brought in a little over $160M in operating income. This represents the second-highest operating income that the company has brought in within a single quarter in history, showing that the gaming storefront is on the upswing.
Despite having “game” in its name, though, what’s driving so much money to GameStop at the moment isn’t video games. Instead, it’s collectibles, as 45% of GameStop’s money for this quarter was generated in this category. This means that various toys, statues, trading cards, and other products that have filled GameStop’s stores over the past few years have started to become its primary business.
By comparison, video games are now GameStop’s second-largest earner, but sales on this front have started to decrease drastically. Compared to Q2 of the previous fiscal year, which saw the launch of the Switch 2, earnings have fallen by well over $200M. To some degree, this isn’t a shock, especially in the wake of heightened console sales. Still, it puts into perspective just how much GameStop’s business is moving away from the thing that put it on the map.
The timing of this report from GameStop likely also isn’t beneficial to those who have been trying to save physical games. In the wake of PlayStation announcing that it would end production of discs beginning in January 2028, many fans have been looking to retailers like GameStop to try to put pressure on the company to reverse course on this decision. Instead, GameStop seems to be doing perfectly fine, even with sales for its physical games falling. With those in charge at GameStop seeing this trend, it likely feels much more secure in its future, even if manufacturers like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo end up going all-digital in the years to come.
[H/T GameSpot]
