The Irony of GameStop: Why Its CEO Just Called Physical Games “Totally Irrelevant”

The death of physical video games just got fast tracked, and the call is coming from inside the house.

For years, the gaming community has been fighting a grueling rearguard action to preserve physical media. Between digital only console editions, licensing agreements that mean you don’t actually "own" your digital library, and rumors of platform holders phasing out discs entirely, collectors have been on high alert.

But no one expected the final blow to come from the king of physical retail itself.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Tech, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen was asked how his brick and mortar business plans to survive a looming all digital future. His response didn't just turn heads—it completely dismissed the core product his company was built on:

"It doesn’t matter at all. Software, it mattered in the past. Software today makes up less than 12% of the business... So, it’s totally, totally irrelevant."

To the average gamer.. hearing the CEO of GameStop call video games "irrelevant" sounds like corporate sabotage. But if you look under the hood of the company’s modern financials, the raw data reveals a massive, quiet identity shift.

By the Numbers: GameStop is No Longer a Game Store

On the surface, it seems like something outlandish, but Cohen's assertion that "software isn't my business" makes sense in the context of what GameStop is truly profitable on now. The business model has subtly shifted from game centric to pop culture centric.

• 12% to 18%: The current fraction of total revenue that video game software (both physical and digital) brings in for GameStop.

• 41%: The huge percentage of money earned fully from collectibles, apparel, trading cards and toys.

• 1,300+: The number of physical retail locations GameStop has closed over the last two years to cut costs as foot traffic for physical games dries up.

Stop by any local branch today, and it's in the same way as the spreadsheets. Blind boxes and Funko Pops are filling in the walls that once was filled wall by wall with used game cases, and Pokémon trading cards are filling in the rest. GameStop is not about the digital future, they've decided to move on from it.

Pivoting to eBay and Dodging GTA 6

The clinching part of the interview was when market analysts attempted to take the interview in the direction they wanted it to go in: towards the biggest revenue generator in the near future Grand Theft Auto 6.

Instead of developing a plan for a midnight release. or talking about hardware bundles to cash in on this biggest entertainment launch of the decade, Cohen deflected completely.

I want to go back and talk about eBay," Cohen said.

Instead of making things better for the retail side, the focus of leadership is on a $56 billion, unsolicited offer for eBay, the ecommerce giant. The goal? To combine GameStop's collectibles operation with eBay's digital marketplace platform to create a huge tech conglomerate. The catch? eBay's board has already publicly rejected the offer, dubbing it "neither credible nor attractive. Cohen is stuck on it as the last avenue of escape for the company.

The Big Picture: Preservation is Up to Us

GameStop's management is aware that time is of the essence. The retail giant has no plans to follow the ship down given the rumour that console manufacturers are wanting to leave physical production behind by 2028. They're not going to join in the battle for consumer rights, the used games market or video game preservation. They're constructing a life raft using plushies and collectibles.

If you're a player who values real ownership, then it's time to pay attention to the writing on the wall. In the event that it's the biggest video gaming retailer, the duty of maintaining gaming media is entirely in the palms of the neighborhood.