Gamers shocked as high street chain is said to stop selling video games – rumours refuted immediately

THERE’S been a shift away from physical video game sales, as more and more players are buying their games digitally.

Last year, Tesco stopped offering games in its stores, and now a report claimed that a big high-street store chain could be following suit.

According to a report by Gfinity Esports, UK retailer Game was planning to stop selling physical games and gaming hardware in-store.

Citing sources close to the retail chain, the report claimed physical copies of games and gaming hardware would be available in-store only on pre-order basis.

As gamers were reacting in despair to the report on social media, Game was quick to refute the story, confirming to Eurogamer that its stores will continue to sell boxed games.

A Game spokesperson said that earlier reports from today were “categorically not true”, and that the high street retailer “continues to support the physical gaming market”.

The chain confirmed that nothing will change for in-store and online sales of boxed copies, and it will continue to offer “a wide range of physical games”.

Game will not stop selling gaming hardware, accessories and digital gift cards, in its physical stores and online.

The retailer’s statement is reassuring for fans of physical media who are feeling uneasy about the constant rumours of boxed games’ demise.

In an interview earlier this year, publisher Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay warned gamers to get comfortable with not owning their games, as physical sales are dwindling and digital subscriptions and live service games are on the rise.

UK fans of physical discs already suffered a blow when Game confirmed at the start of this year that it plans to end its pre-owned games business.

As of February 16, 2024, Game stores no longer buy used games and players hoping to swap their old games for other titles have fewer options to do so.

At the end of last year, Game closed a handful of its 240 shops in the UK, in Witney, Oxfordshire, in Plymouth and Cambridgeshire.

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