GameStop is an Essential Retail Store and Will Not Close Regardless of What Law Enforcement Says

Vice: Five employees with access to the instructions and accompanying flyer showed copies to VICE Games today. GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Due to the products we carry that enable and enhance our customers’ experience in working from home,” reads the memo, “we believe GameStop is classified as essential retail and therefore is able to remain open during this time. We have received reports of local authorities visiting stores in an attempt to enforce closure despite our classification. Store managers are approved to provide the document linked below to law enforcement as needed.”

The flyer came with a short note

“Thank you for what you are doing to keep us all safe. If you have questions about our store’s hours, operations or policies could I ask you to please call our corporate office:

GameStop Corporate Office
844-993-3145

Thank you for understanding.”

LOTTA BALLS FROM A DYING COMPANY. What a crock of shit. Reggie has to start working his magic on this shell of a business. Share how to be a decent person. And not for nothing, this fiasco comes after GameStop told their employees to buy their own sanitation products for themselves, and their stores, so they can remain safe and clean while working.

“We’re enabled to go out to purchase these items ourselves and have them expensed,” a San Francisco-area store employee told Kotaku. “At least in my store’s regard, it’s virtually impossible to find the items we need to adequately clean and sanitize the stores and keep ourselves as safe as we can.”

San Fransisco GameStop employee told Kotaku

I don’t know if you’ve seen the stores, GameStop higher ups.. But they’re picked dry.

Makes my blood boil. Close the damn stores, no one is shopping there anyway. They’re wasting more money on the electric bill being open, than anything they hope to make during this GLOBAL PANDEMIC. Not even just during this time, in general. Who buys their games as physical copies anymore? Pretty much no one, that’s who. Except your fate and close down.

My heart goes out to GameStop employees that have to deal with this bullshit.