British retailer game has reportedly lost most of its head office staff in recent months, causing further problems for the struggling gaming specialist.
This is according to a new report from GameIndustry.biz sister site Eurogamer, which spoke to several managers, store staff and sources close to head office, who claim that parent company Frasers Group has drastically reduced the gaming retailer’s leadership.
One source estimated that 78% of head office staff have been laid off since game fully integrated with Frasers Group on August 1, 2024, while another claims there are now around 20 employees in that department, having previously had at least 100.
A current employee added that all area managers have been laid off, meaning all store managers must speak directly to a small head office team.
Sports Direct took over game in June 2019, with that retailer changing its name to Frasers Group later that year. Since then, many of its stores (including dozens this year) have closed and been replaced by concessions inside Sports Direct branches.
In 2024 alone, game will reportedly abandon its former second-hand business, end the sale of physical currency cards, and will no longer accept in-store pre-orders for new releases.
Over the past few months, the retailer is said to have struggled to fulfill online pre-orders for key releases and has been shipping copies late, with titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and the Silent remake affected. Hill 2.
Eurogamer’s sources claim that Frasers Group’s ordering and logistics managers, who are unfamiliar with the games industry and its release slate, have not ordered enough stock to ensure stores have copies available at launch, saying that “most game releases don’t arrive on time.” “
“Everything that hasn’t been EA Sports FC or Call of Duty has arrived late or not at all,” said one staff member. “And if we get it, maybe we’ll get a handful of copies. I’ve actually been shipping more people than serving. We did receive some PS5 Pro consoles, but only half of what they told us we would receive.”
GameIndustry.biz Frasers Group has been contacted for comment.
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