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GameStop CEO says physical games no longer matter
Ryan Cohen called physical game sales “totally irrelevant” to GameStop as collectibles hit 41% of revenue and he pushed his eBay deal again.
Image: TNW
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen says the decline of physical video game sales is now “totally, totally irrelevant” to the retailer’s business.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV on Thursday, Cohen was responding to Sony’s announcement earlier this month that it will end physical disc production for new PlayStation games in 2028. His answer was blunt: “It doesn’t matter at all.”
GameStop’s numbers partly back that up. In the company’s most recent quarter, software sales — including both physical and digital game copies — made up just 18 percent of total revenue. Collectibles, led by trading cards from franchises such as Pokémon, have become the company’s biggest category at 41 percent of the business.
Cohen also used the interview to return repeatedly to a different subject: eBay. GameStop had submitted a roughly $56 billion bid for the marketplace, but eBay’s board rejected it in May. Cohen said a combined GameStop-eBay could become “a $1 trillion business” because of their overlap in physical goods and collectibles. GameStop has continued buying eBay shares and now owns nearly eight percent.
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When asked about demand for Grand Theft Auto VI, which launches on November 19 and is expected to generate more than $5 billion in its first week according to analytics firm NewZoo, Cohen again redirected the discussion.
“I want to go back and talk about eBay.”
The comment underscored how far the company has moved from its original business. Digital downloads now account for 85 percent of full-game sales on PlayStation, and GameStop has closed more than 1,300 stores over its past two fiscal years.
Cohen has built a $9 billion cash position through convertible debt and meme-stock-era share sales, but the path to a roughly $56 billion acquisition remains difficult — especially with eBay showing no interest so far.
Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.
via TNW
