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GAME Closes All Standalone UK Stores After Entering Administration

Clearance sales at concessions highlight how digital downloads have drained demand for discs.

Overview

  • GAME, which entered administration last month, is shutting all standalone UK shops while keeping around 200 concessions in Sports Direct and House of Fraser and its online store open.
  • The final high-street locations in Lancaster, Sutton and Dudley's Merry Hill shopping centre are closing as the wind-down of standalone sites completes.
  • Instagram seller Charlotte Gough showed a Sports Direct concession stacked with yellow-sticker deals and said there are “hundreds of clearance deals” to buy and resell.
  • She highlighted Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox Series X reduced from £29.99 to £20 and a Mario LEGO set she said could net about £30 profit when flipped on Amazon.
  • This second administration since 2012 follows a 2019 rescue by Sports Direct, with managing director Nick Arran set to leave as digital game purchases have grown from about 45% to roughly 75% since the pandemic.