Video game retailer and reseller GameStop has reportedly kicked off the new year by shutting down hundreds of its brick-and-mortar locations across the United States. According to the GameStop Closing List, a blogspot highlighting the chain’s closures, GameStop expects to close over 400 stores — around 25% of all U.S. locations — in January 2026 as part of its “comprehensive store portfolio optimization.” News of store closures and widespread layoffs comes alongside reports that GameStop’s billionaire CEO, Ryan Cohen, could receive $35 billion in stock payouts pending positive company performance.
In its December 2025 SEC filing, GameStop said it “anticipate[s] closing a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025,” a period ending January 31, 2026. At the time of writing, the GameStop Closing List says the chain has closed (or confirmed the imminent closure of) 443 U.S. locations in 42 states since the start of 2026. This figure is in addition to the retailer’s nearly 600 closures in 2024. GameStop did not report the number of stores shuttered in fiscal year 2025.
In its December 2025 earnings report, the Texas-based brand said earnings fell $39.3 million from 2024.
GameStop CEO could cash in on closures
In a January 7 news release, GameStop announced it would give brand CEO Ryan Cohen “a performance-based stock option award,” but clarified that he would “need to increase the chain’s market cap to $100 billion.” The news release details the agreement’s parameters:
- Market Capitalization Milestones: The first tranche vests only if GameStop achieves a market capitalization of $20 billion. Each subsequent tranche requires an additional $10 billion increase in market capitalization, up to $100 billion.
- Operational Milestones: In addition to market capitalization growth, Mr. Cohen must meet profitability targets. The first tranche requires Cumulative Performance EBITDA of $2.0 billion, with targets increasing for each subsequent tranche up to a cumulative amount of $10 billion.
If the Company does not achieve the minimum Market Capitalization Hurdle of $20 billion and Cumulative Performance EBITDA Hurdle of $2.0 billion, no options will vest and Mr. Cohen will have no opportunity to receive compensation from the award. There is no interpolation between hurdles; the specific targets must be met in full for a tranche to be earned.
The award, GameStop says, “ensures that Mr. Cohen’s incentives are directly aligned with creating long-term value for GameStop’s stockholders.” But because the $100 billion market cap in question is roughly 10 times GameStop’s current $9.26 billion valuation, the chain’s CEO could, in theory, use layoffs and widespread closures to reach that goal.
It’s also worth noting that Cohen is the company’s second-largest shareholder with a stake of about 8.3%, which means a jump in valuation would further enrich the CEO beyond the purported payout.
GameStop strategizes amid store struggles
As Xbox Game Pass memberships, Steam downloads, and other digital offerings dominate the gaming landscape, GameStop has gradually shifted away from its more traditional retail sales toward other avenues, such as gaming peripherals, collectibles, geeky graphic tees, and Funko figures. An uptick in curbside pickups did little to offset the impact of 2020’s COVID-19 social distancing protocols, which further complicated store traffic and in-store events like midnight releases.
GameStop brought CEO Ryan Cohen aboard back in 2021, around the time of its now-infamous short squeeze. GameStop’s revenue hit an all-time high that year, and it has since attempted to achieve similar virality multiple times. Recent brand strategies (and subsequent controversies) include its colossal cryptocurrency investments, a questionable “Trade Anything Day,” a class-action settlement, the “Power Packs” TCG platform, and its very online beef with Best Buy regarding content creator Rilie Huntley.
Cohen, the founder of pet product retailer Chewy, has personally come under fire in the past for inflammatory social media posts. In early 2025, the brand’s controversial CEO scapegoated “wokeness and DEI” in a post on X (formerly Twitter) following the company’s decision to pursue a sale of its France- and Canada-based retailers. “Email M&A@gamestop.com if you’re interested in buying GameStop Canada or Micromania France. High taxes, Liberalism, Socialism, Progressivism, Wokeness and DEI included at no additional cost if you buy today,” he wrote.
One post from November 7, 2024, states, “Trump has now won 3 elections in a row,” insinuating that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, thereby giving credence to conspiracy theories about election fraud. The post has since been viewed nearly 1 million times.
In late October 2025, the Trump administration piggybacked on a GameStop social media post declaring the “console wars” over. The official White House X account replied to GameStop’s post with an AI-generated rendering of President Donald Trump wearing Halo protagonist Master Chief’s recognizable armor. In the image, Trump salutes with his right hand and holds an energy sword in his left. “Power to the players,” the post reads.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Outrun Gaming for more information as it becomes available.
