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GameStop Accelerates U.S. Store Closures, With Hundreds Shuttering in January

The retailer cites the shift to digital downloads as the primary reason for the retrenchment.

Overview

  • An independent tracker reports roughly 470 U.S. locations closed or confirmed to close by the end of January, reflecting a rapid start to 2026 following about 400 closures reported in 2025.
  • USA TODAY confirms shutdowns across more than a dozen states, with listed sites in California, Ohio, Alabama, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Mississippi, Connecticut and Delaware, among others.
  • In a March 2025 SEC filing, GameStop said it planned a significant number of additional closures in fiscal 2025, which ends Jan. 31, 2026.
  • GameStop attributes the downsizing to customers increasingly downloading games, a trend enabled by current Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft consoles.
  • The company did not provide a comprehensive list or comment to USA TODAY; customers can verify local status via GameStop’s store locator, as prior filings noted 590 closures in fiscal 2024 and about 3,203 stores worldwide at that time.