It has been a 12 months of change for UK excessive road stalwart GAME, with impacts felt by the chain’s loyal clients and long-term workers alike.
In January, Eurogamer broke the information that the model would finish its long-running trade-in scheme and the sale of pre-owned video games, whereas some workers had been moved onto new zero-hour contracts. This summer season, we reported on a flurry of additional modifications, together with the closure of GAME’s membership programme and the ending of in-store pre-orders for brand spanking new releases, as GAME’s technical programs had been “upgraded” to these of its mother or father firm, Frasers Group.
This autumn, additional results of that change turned obvious, as GAME clients struggled with on-line pre-orders and confronted confusion over deliveries – most notably together with the Silent Hill 2 Steelbook. And all through this 12 months, dozens extra GAME outlets have closed on the excessive road, changed by concessions in different shops resembling Sports activities Direct.
As 2024 involves a detailed, we have spoken with store flooring workers, managers and people near GAME’s head workplace for extra element on the place the corporate is at present, and a proof for why the problems clients have confronted over the previous few months have been so persistent. All wished to stay nameless for the sake of their careers.
Eurogamer contacted Frasers Group for touch upon this report, because it has executed with its reporting beforehand, however as soon as once more didn’t obtain a response.
“We have now misplaced 78 p.c of GAME head workplace workers”
“When Frasers Group took over GAME, that they had their very own departments that cope with advertising and marketing and logistics ensuring stuff goes out on time,” somebody with data of GAME’s head workplace instructed me. “However then Frasers Group sat down and mentioned ‘why do we want two of all the pieces?'”
This 12 months has seen layoffs and redundancies throughout the chain, from store workers who’ve been moved to zero hours contracts or provided work elsewhere – resembling in Sports activities Direct shops. Others have merely been instructed they’re now not required, together with a widespread lack of space managers over the previous couple of months, in addition to the majority of GAME’s earlier head workplace workers.
“They made space managers redundant, eliminating some very loyal workers members – as much as 20 years with the corporate in some circumstances,” a present worker mentioned. “This implies retailer managers now discuss to and are managed by somebody in head workplace – the identical head workplace which has additionally had redundancies and been decreased considerably.”
“For the reason that full integration with Fraser group on 1st August we’ve misplaced 78 p.c of GAME head workplace workers,” one other worker mentioned. “It was triple digits and now within the 20s,” one other particular person confirmed. “After all, we are actually struggling the consequences of that.”
On a shopfloor stage, workers say Frasers Group sees redundancies as a technique to reduce GAME’s wage invoice whereas concurrently investing in additional workers for Sports activities Direct – “the model they actually care about, the extra worthwhile enterprise”, one workers member instructed me. Eurogamer is conscious of workers who’ve stop as a result of they didn’t want to be moved from a video video games specialist retailer to promoting sportswear and trainers, and others who had been solely provided nominal shifts, resembling simply three hours on a Saturday, beneath new zero hours contracts.
“There’s simply been inventory points with each new launch”
The lack of head workplace workers and people skilled within the video video games enterprise has affected the supply of video games to shops, a number of workers say. “The Frasers Group ordering and logistics managers are usually not doing sufficient to satisfy launch dates,” one particular person mentioned. “They’re simply ordering stuff each time.” Whereas the launch of Silent Hill 2 made headlines, GAME workers say that, with few exceptions, nearly all of sport releases are usually not arriving on time. “There’s simply been inventory points with each new launch,” a workers member mentioned. “Something that hasn’t been EA Sports activities FC or Name of Responsibility has been late arriving, or not arrived in any respect. And if we do get it, possibly we get a handful of copies. I’ve genuinely been sending extra folks away than serving. We did get just a few PS5 Professional consoles in, however solely half what we had been instructed we’d obtain.”
“It seems on the floor to all of us that sure, whoever is within the GAME head workplace now doesn’t perceive what a sport specialist is,” one other workers member mentioned. “The final supply we had at our retailer, there have been no new releases, no video games, no equipment – as a substitute we acquired 136 Zendaya motion figures.”
Eurogamer lately reported on clients ready days to obtain Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6 copies that they had pre-ordered, after GAME beforehand claimed clients could be accessible to “decide up and play” the sport with an added Steelbook on the day of launch. In actuality, the sport’s launch introduced an replace from the chain that it was conscious some orders had been nonetheless “processing”, with no phrase on how lengthy the delay would final.
“My retailer acquired 5 copies of COD, one of many greatest launches of the 12 months,” one supply mentioned. “How are you going to earn money on 5 copies? New copies price quite a bit and you do not make a lot, £6-£12 relying on how a lot they’re marked up. When you have somebody working eight, 10 hours a day, you need to promote quite a bit to make their wages.
“I lately noticed six or seven folks are available in inside about half an hour to purchase a sport that got here out that day, solely to be instructed GAME did not have it. ‘What do you imply, it got here out immediately, I pre-ordered it?’ they’d say. We simply have to inform them we do not have it in, and I am actually sorry. All of them left with out the stuff they’d already paid for, on the day of the discharge. And you understand how individuals who play video video games are. We’re compulsive patrons. The variety of people who find themselves then like ‘properly cancel my pre-order, I will purchase it from Smyths’. After which they do not are available in ever once more.”
“Truthfully at this level we’d not be stunned”
The Name of Responsibility snafu got here simply weeks after GAME shipped Silent Hill 2 copies late after which left clients with out the sport’s accompanying Steelbook, which the chain merely mentioned had been delayed, with no apology or additional purpose given. Eurogamer requested GAME workers what had occurred there, and heard a persistent hearsay that the particular person now ordering the chain’s inventory had been unaware of methods to course of it correctly.
“When you will have Steelbook editions, you order 50 copies of the sport. You additionally order 50 Steelbooks,” an individual near GAME’s head workplace mentioned. “I used to be instructed the particular person at Frasers Group who’s now in cost for ordering inventory for GAME merely did not click on that they wished the Steelbook too. They only ordered 40k copies of the sport however did not choose the Steelbook. It was solely when space managers – some that had been nonetheless there – mentioned ‘you simply have not ordered it’ [that Frasers Group realised]. And at first they had been like ‘what do you imply, I’ve ordered it’. And so they mentioned ‘no, for particular editions you need to order it beneath particular gives’.”
“The Silent Hill 2 Steelbook we’ve heard a number of totally different excuses for,” one other GAME workers member instructed me. “The one which comes up probably the most is for the reason that change over to Fraser Group programs, all pre-order info was misplaced into the ether on pre-orders made earlier than 1st August. So info on which shops wanted allocations was gone. Then they randomly despatched greater than required to sure shops and a few shops like ours who had pre-orders acquired none. One other retailer in my space solely had 10 pre-orders however acquired 37 Steelbooks. So all accessible Steelbooks ended up at a choose few shops.”
“There are inner rumours,” mentioned a 3rd workers member, “truthfully at this level we’d not be stunned if it had been the reality.”
“Frasers Group does not know what to ship out, the place to ship it to”
Eurogamer has repeatedly heard of points behind the scenes since GAME moved over to Frasers Group programs this summer season, and certainly that is the explanation behind lots of the chain’s numerous schemes, resembling GAME Rewards and GAME Pockets, now not being supported.
“They do not even have the gross sales information,” one particular person shut to go workplace mentioned, “as a result of all the level of sale and inventory managing programs have been ripped aside and transformed over to the Frasers Group, or the individuals who knew these things are being made redundant. Frasers Group has no background in video games, they haven’t any affinity, no ardour for it. They cannot look again at 10-15 years of gross sales historical past as a result of it has been deleted.
“My native retailer, they have not had Swap Professional controllers in for months,” they continued. “Personally I acquired mine from CEX, saved £20. However some folks need them from GAME and so they’re not being despatched. There are warehouses up and down the nation stuffed to the brim with inventory as a result of the Frasers Group does not know what to ship out, the place to ship it to.”
Workers say they do not consider something will change till Frasers Group acknowledges GAME’s present points – and that this does not appear possible, as the corporate’s deal with reducing prices and workers continues. Some even consider the one clarification for the modifications is a type of self-sabotage, they instructed me.
“The final feeling amongst workers has been that the poor selections, the firing of virtually all of the educated workers and now the low inventory with completely zero communication of the problems from head workplace can solely be a deliberate, calculated try and run the corporate into the bottom,” one worker mentioned. “If it is not deliberate, it is complete incompetence or determined cost-saving measures that can solely be detrimental to earnings in the long term.”
“I do not suppose they know they’re doing a foul job,” one other mentioned. “They suppose they’re saving a great deal of cash, nonetheless doing properly, clients are nonetheless coming again. Effectively, they are not listening to anybody.”
