UK fans of physical games will be sad to learn that the country’s largest retailer, GAME, will be ending trade-ins next month. In a new report from Eurogamer, the outlet learned from staff at GAME that the company will be winding down its plans for trade-ins in the coming weeks until its warehouse is closed on February 16, 2024. While you may no longer be able to trade in any of your games, all stores will still carry pre-owned titles until stock is depleted.
Game Over for physical trades at GAME.
Eurogamer confirmed the news with multiple branches of the store across the country. According to what they’ve learned, staff at GAME were told of the change and have been making preparations for the switch. GAME, itself, has not confirmed nor denied the news, but Eurogamer reached out for comment. We’re likely to get more official news in the coming days.
In an interview with GI.biz last summer, GAME managing director Nick Arran stated in an interview, “Gaming is our core business and we will be the last man standing selling physical video games.” He explained that he sees GAME as the place for anything physical, whether it is collector’s editions or a boxed copy so that you can hand an actual gift to your friends and family. I guess plans have changed since that interview, though.
Since that interview, GAME has closed a number of stores and even made moves to get into the toy market. The video game industry continues to grow year-on-year, but with so many layoffs hitting different studios and a ton of uncertainty around the state of the triple-A industry, maybe GAME is erring on the side of caution.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
