Staff at GAME, a UK video game retailer, have reportedly been told to expect redundancies as most staff are moved to zero hours contracts.
As reported by Eurogamer, multiple GAME staff members spoke to the site anonymously and confirmed that most non-managerial staff will now be employed on zero hours contracts. They also added that this was not unexpected.
GAME Staff affected by the layoffs will reportedly be told via phone or email, but it is unclear how many will be affected. Several GAME shops closed in December 2023, and it is not known at this time if these layoffs will mean more will follow suit. NME has reached out to Frasers Group for comment.
GAME has seen many of its high street shops close over the last few years and instead shift to concessions stands within Sports Direct and House of Fraser shops. The Frasers Group purchased GAME in 2019 for £52 million.
In February this year, it was announced that GAME shops would stop all trade-ins of old video games. Going to GAME to trade in an old game for a new, discounted, second hand one is something many UK kids have done. Unfortunately, stores will also stop selling pre-owned games and consoles.
This news follows recent industry trends of digital sales overtaking physical media. In 2022, 60 per cent of all games sold in North America were digital. The convenience of digital is hard to ignore, but digital storefronts don’t last forever, as the closing of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U digital stores shows. And with games getting more expensive, second-hand markets help many players get access to titles they otherwise couldn’t afford.
In other news, Amazon‘s Fallout TV series is dropping all of its episodes on Prime April 11, but people can watch the first episode for free on Twitch, too.