Insight into the fall of British high street video game retailer Game going into administration has been brought to light in a new report. After years of business troubles and challenges, this write-up claims the company’s liquidation was caused by changing consumer behaviour, fierce competition, and “uncertainty associated with Brexit”.
KR8 Advisory’s report, penned by James Saunders and Lauren Wentworth, details the storied downfall of the company after the pair were assigned as its administrators in April. Game – unable to meet its debt obligations – entered administration in February of this with £15.8m left unsettled.
The report starts by covering the Game brand’s history, noting its roster of 300 stores in 2012 as well as two digital e-commerce websites for both Game and Game Station (though the latter would close and be rolled into Game shortly after).
This all turned on its head starting in 2016, when the company reported a drop in profit of 71 percent (or £6.8m) compared to the year prior. The following year, the company was reportedly operating at a loss of £7.1m.
“Market conditions remained difficult in the subsequent years driven by changes in consumer behaviour, including the transaction from physical games to digital downloads, uncertainty associated with Brexit, and increased competition within the sector,” writes Saunders and Wentworth.
By 2019 this loss had increased, and it was agreed that shareholder Frasers Group would acquire the IP in exchange for a cash consideration (as opposed to taking it for stock or debt). It seems this didn’t do much to save the company as, by 2025, Game had a rough fall business period – a time of year that historically has been bountiful for the games business.
The report notes: “There have been no major console releases since 2020, and large manufacturers have cited global chip shortages as a reason for further delays.” From here the administrators determined the business was no longer viable.
Indeed it looks as though the market would not have been any kinder to Game in the future, even if it had somehow managed to come back out of administration. With the assumed biggest release of this year Grand Theft Auto 6 going without a physical disc in the box, and Sony planning to cease production of discs from 2028 onwards, there is less reason to actually visit one of these high street retailers than ever.
On the points raised by the report, there is no planned release date for the next generation of video game consoles, either. Even if the PlayStation 6 or Xbox Helix were to release in the next year or two, component shortages and rising prices bring into question how able the general population would be to actually buy them at a scale that would keep stores like Game alive.
While the Brexit mention may have seemingly popped up out of nowhere, it’s of course worth noting that leaving the European Union has had financial consequences for the country. According to the Bank of England, six percent of the nation’s GDP has been lost as a result – which of course has a knock on effect (dare I say, it trickles down) to the spending power of the sodden, saddened, British punter.
So, while the report does very much feel like reading a detailed obituary for a nostalgic social hub in your local town, what’s actually revealed in it doesn’t come as too much of a shock.
