GameStop to Close 200 Stores this Month with $35B Performance Approval

GameStop is facing some significant changes in the near future as the struggling video game retailer plans to close multiple brick-and-mortar stores. A recent SEC filing from December 2025 revealed that GameStop will be shutting down a considerable number of physical locations during its fiscal year 2025, which ends on January 31, 2026. According to reports from Fast Company and other media outlets, up to 200 stores may be closed this month, following the closure of 590 U.S. stores throughout fiscal year 2024.

In addition to these store closures, GameStop also announced a performance-based compensation package for its Chairman and CEO, Ryan Cohen. This package could potentially amount to a staggering $35 billion and is intended to motivate Cohen to increase the company’s market capitalization to $100 billion, far surpassing its current value of $9.3 billion. To unlock the full potential of this compensation package, GameStop must achieve $10 billion in Cumulative Performance EBITDA. Cohen’s award will be based solely on stock options to purchase 171,537,327 shares of the company’s Class A common stock at a price of $20.66 per share, with no guaranteed salary, cash bonuses, or stock that simply vests over time.

Reaching a market capitalization 10 times greater than the current level is an ambitious goal for GameStop, especially considering its current financial standing. In the third quarter of 2025, which ended on November 1, 2025, GameStop recorded net sales of $821 million, demonstrating a 4.6% decline from the $860.3 million generated during the same period the prior year. In recent years, GameStop has divested itself of its international operations in several countries, including Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Canada. The retailer is also in the process of devising a plan to sell its operations in France.

Moreover, according to Reuters, the company’s annual revenue has declined by more than 35% since 2022, and its stock price has dropped by 80% from the all-time highs reached in 2021 when GameStop experienced a surge in popularity among retail investors during the meme-stock rally of the pandemic era.

These developments paint a challenging picture for GameStop as it navigates through a series of store closures and attempts to revive its financial performance under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen. The market will be watching closely as GameStop aims to turn the tide and steer the company towards a brighter future amidst ongoing challenges in the retail industry.