GameStop's CEO Says Physical Games Don't Matter Anymore
GameStop's CEO says physical games are irrelevant, focusing on collectibles instead.
Ryan Cohen, the CEO of GameStop, has made it clear that Sony's reported move away from physical game discs isn't something the company needs to worry about — because video game software, it turns out, barely registers in GameStop's business anymore.
In recent comments, Cohen stated that physical game sales are "totally irrelevant" to what GameStop does now. The numbers back that up: software accounts for less than 12% of the company's revenue, while collectibles have grown to make up over half the business. It's a striking shift for a retailer that built its entire identity around being the place to buy games.
The pivot reflects a broader reckoning with how the industry has changed. As digital distribution has become the norm and subscription services have reshaped how people access games, the physical retail model that sustained GameStop for decades has quietly become secondary. Cohen's candour about this suggests the company has already moved past lamenting that loss and is instead doubling down on what's actually working — collectibles, memorabilia, and the communities that gather around gaming culture.
Beyond collectibles, Cohen also touched on potential future directions for GameStop, including live commerce and digital marketplaces. These moves suggest the company is exploring ways to stay relevant by leaning into the social and community aspects of gaming rather than trying to compete in a space where physical media is increasingly irrelevant.
It's an honest acknowledgment of where retail gaming stands in 2024. Whether GameStop can sustain itself on collectibles and new ventures remains to be seen, but Cohen's willingness to say out loud that physical games don't matter to his business anymore is, in its own way, a kind of clarity — an admission that the company's survival depends on becoming something other than what it once was.
Source: IGN
