GameStop, once the jewel of meme stocks, is set to close stores across the nation

The game is over for more GameStop locations nationwide.

The video game retailer, which became a symbol of the 2021 meme-stock craze, is preparing to close multiple stores across several states this month as part of ongoing efforts to cut costs and adapt to shifting shopping habits, according to local reports and notices shared by customers.

The new closures continue GameStop’s downsizing plans, which saw 590 U.S. stores close during the last fiscal year as part of the company’s “store portfolio optimization review,” Fast Company reports.

In a December Securities and Exchange Commission filing, GameStop confirmed they were closing a “significant number of additional stores” during its 2025 fiscal year, which ends January 31, 2026.

As of early 2025, GameStop reported operating around 3,200 stores globally, with 2,325 locations in the United States.

While GameStop has not released a comprehensive list of locations expected to close this month, reports from customers and local media suggest that stores in Ohio, Illinois, New York, Kansas, Kentucky, Connecticut, and Minnesota are among those that either have already or are preparing to shut their doors.

The Independent has contacted GameStop representatives for comment.

One recently closed location, in Thompson, Maine, shut on January 5. The store manager posted on Facebook that the closure happened earlier than expected “due to circumstances outside of our control.”

“This store has never just been a store to us. It’s been a place built on people, shared memories, and a community that showed up for us time and time again. We are so incredibly grateful for the love and support we’ve felt here over the years,” she wrote.

GameStop’s shares never returned to 2021 meme-era highs and has remained volatile ever since. Over the past 12 months, their stock has declined around 36 percent, Fast Company reports.

That year, everyday investors, many coordinating on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, drove the company’s share price from under $20 to more than $480 at its peak.

The surge, driven by a short squeeze and a tweet from Elon Musk, caught hedge funds off guard and led to trading halts and huge losses for many. Congressional hearings and increased scrutiny of market rules soon followed.

Headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, GameStop is the world’s largest video game retailer. Founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage’s and renamed GameStop in 1999, the company’s performance declined in the mid-to-late 2010s due to the shift to online gaming sales and unsuccessful smartphone retail investments.