GameStop is shuttering hundreds of retail locations just days into the new year, as CEO Ryan Cohen targets $35 billion in performance-based stock options.
Reports indicating that the gaming and pop-culture retailer would soon close stores began emerging shortly after 2026 started. Some shoppers located and shared signage warning that their local branch was closing soon, offering a limited-time 20% trade-in bonus as compensation.
Been going to this GameStop for over 12 years. Sad to see it go. All the best to the guys Jose, Nick and more. Check them out before they close on the 8th. This is the 18th av location in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/hV8NxgESUO
— Brooklyn Games & Arcade (@ArcadeBrooklyn) January 3, 2026
“This store is closed effective 1/8/26,” a different sign posted to Reddit on January 2, 2026, reads. “Thank you for being a loyal GameStop customer.”
The signs then direct customers with game or memorabilia reservations to visit new stores to pick up their purchases, but the suddenness and widespread reports have left buyers with more questions than answers. With online accounts of dozens of store closures, a blog tracking GameStop activity—using employee reports and the company’s own store locator—claims to have documented 390 store closures (via Polygon). An additional 10 stores are currently being confirmed as shut down; if accurate, this brings the total to 400 shuttered GameStop locations just over a week into the year.
This marks another blow to GameStop’s physical footprint in the gaming market. A December 2025 filing from the company noted it had ceased operations at 590 U.S. locations during fiscal 2024. Now, the once-dominant retailer known for “powering players” appears to be sticking to its future strategy, with the same document stating it anticipates “closing a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025.” For the past decade, GameStop has closed more U.S. stores than it has opened each year, often numbering in the hundreds.
Meanwhile, GameStop announced earlier this week that Cohen, who became CEO in September 2023, is eligible for a staggering $35 billion in performance-based stock options. To unlock this payout, the company’s board requires GameStop to achieve a market capitalization of $100 billion and reach $10 billion in cumulative adjusted EBITDA (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Currently, GameStop’s market cap stands at approximately $9.5 billion.
“The award is designed to incentivize Mr. Cohen to achieve extraordinary growth,” the announcement states.
In recent years, GameStop has pursued unconventional strategies to gain traction while doubling down on collectibles and memes. In August 2023, the company exited crypto, moving to shutter its short-lived NFT marketplace just months later. More recently (and much to the dismay of employees), it hosted its first-ever Trade Anything Day, allowing customers to bring in literally any item for trade-in credit at local stores. Earlier this week, The New Zealand Herald reported that GameStop’s EB Games branch had proposed closing its remaining stores in New Zealand.
