GameStop Partners With FTX on Back of Wider Losses

Video game retailer GameStop has announced that it will partner with FTX, one of the most popular crypto exchanges.

Gamestop and FTX Form Partnership

GameStop and FTX are joining forces.

According to a press release published on September 7, GameStop will enter a partnership with FTX’s American division, FTX.US.

The announcement only names one specific course of action: the gaming retailer will carry FTX gift cards in select stores.

Beyond that, the two companies will collaborate on e-commerce and online marketing efforts. GameStop will also become FTX’s preferred retail partner for the duration of the partnership.

The deal is explicitly intended to drive GameStop’s customers to FTX’s services and marketplace. It is unclear whether FTX will advertise GameStop to its own customers.

The deal’s financial terms will not be disclosed, according to the text of today’s press release.

GameStop CEO Matt Furlong said in an earnings call that the partnership is a “byproduct of our commerce and blockchain teams.” Those teams are “working together to establish something unique in the retail world,” he added.

GameStop announced the partnership as it reported financial losses. The company’s total sales dropped from $1.183 billion in Q2 2021 to $1.136 billion in Q2 2022.

It also reported other losses. In Q2 of this year, it saw a net loss of $108.7 million ($0.36 per diluted share). In Q2 2021, it saw a net loss of $61.6 million ($0.21 per diluted share).

GameStop has attempted to expand its business by adopting cryptocurrency, specifically NFTs, in recent months.

The company launched its non-fungible token marketplace on July 11. Despite months of anticipation, the marketplace seems to have had only moderate success: on September 7, it had just 759 daily traders and saw $113,000 in daily volume.

Despite that moderate performance, Furlong said in today’s call that GameStop will continue to pursue “long-term growth in the cryptocurrency, NFT, and Web 3.0 gaming verticals.”

It remains to be seen whether the gaming company’s newest partnership will help it achieve those goals.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.