Details around the downfall of GAME have been revealed, including a massive debt of almost £16 million.
Back in February of this year, UK video game retailer GAME entered administration for the second time.
This led to the closure of the last few standalone stores across the UK, with the business now only operating online and via concession stores in Sports Direct and House Of Fraser.
A new report has shed light on the problems facing the retailer up until that point and how much debt it owes overall. And it’s not good news.
As reported by The Herald, GAME owed a massive £15.8 million when it was placed into adminstration earlier this year. That includes £3.5 million to their secured creditor and £12 million to unsecured creditors.
KR8 Advisory’s James Saunders and Lauren Wentworth have been appointed joint administrators of GAME and in the report they explain how the business’ decline started in July 2016, when it reported a drop in profit of 71% (£6.8 million) compared to the year prior. In the following year, the business was operating at a loss before tax of £7.1 million.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
‘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,’ said the adminstrators.
The loss had grown to £43 million by 2019, and despite a takeover from shareholder Frasers Group in the same year, the position of the business only got worse.
The administrators added: ‘Despite these efforts, the company’s financial position continued to deteriorate during the final quarter of 2025, which historically had been one of the busiest trading months for the business.
‘There have been no major console releases since 2020, and large manufacturers have cited global chip shortages as a reason for further delays.’
While the latter weirdly ignores the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 last year, it’s difficult to see how even a new console launch could turn GAME’s fortunes around – especially as it rarely offers games or consoles which aren’t at a better price elsewhere.
The £15.8 million debt has sealed GAME’s fate, but with GTA 6 not containing a physical disc in a box and Sony abandoning physical games altogether from 2028, there isn’t much hope for game retailers across the board – outside of independent specialist stores.
As for how Brexit could factor into the equation, data from economists at the Bank Of England suggests the decision to leave the European Union a decade ago has negatively impacted the UK economy by 6%.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.