UK retailer GAME will stop offering offline physical game pre-order services in August

In recent years, with the rise of digital game downloads, the physical game retail industry has faced a huge challenge. GAME, the UK's largest physical game retailer, recently announced that it will stop offering physical game pre-orders in stores from August 1, 2024.

The news was first revealed by TechRadar, and Eurogamer later confirmed the report through interviews with GAME employees. One employee said that in the future, the checkout page will only accept sales and returns.

GAME's move is linked to its decision to join the Frasers Group, which as recently as June denied reports that it was about to stop selling physical games and hardware, but a new internal notice clarified the decision.

Customers can still pre-order at GAME's online store and choose to have it delivered to their doorstep, or purchase it in-store after the game is released.

GAME's move marks a continued downsizing of the physical games retail sector, which is being undertaken by almost all physical game retailers as digital game downloads become more widespread.