Last GAME stores set to close after UK retailer enters administration

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 02/02/2026

UK gaming retailer GAME is about to close the last of its remaining standalone stores, as the company enters administration.

At one time, GAME had over 600 stores in the UK, partially thanks to a takeover of rival chain Gamestation.

Now, according to reports by VGC, GAME will operate solely from within Sports Direct and House of Fraser stores instead.

The retailer’s concession stores can still be found at over 200 locations, but its overall presence as a sole retailer is essentially over.

Last week, GAME filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators (NOI), giving it ten days of protection from creditor action.

The British video game store previously entered administration in 2012, but was saved by the Frasers Group in 2019.

The business was purchased for £51.9 million.

Fraser Group has reportedly now decided to close GAME’s three remaining stores, meaning the UK essentially doesn’t have a physical chain that sells new games anymore.

Following this decision, Nick Arran is reportedly stepping down as the managing director of GAME after nearly nine years with the company.

GAME’s Head Office in Basinstoke shut down last year, and the company stopped offering pre-owned games and a rewards scheme.

However, GAME’s website seems set to continue trading and its concession stores within Sports Direct and House of Fraser units will remain open.

Moving into Sports Direct is also what happened to the few remaining, previously esports-focused, GAME Belong stores.

These concession stores are areas where customers can play on consoles and high-end PCs and were regularly host to grassroots tournaments.

They remained open despite the equivalents in the USA shutting down back in 2023.

Gaming struggles for UK high streets

GAME closing its last standalone stores, but continuing online, speaks volumes about the UK’s relentless high street struggles.

As mentioned prior, the Belong PC bangs of GAME have mostly closed after a peak of 23 venues at one time.

And other similar PC bang/communal gaming venues have also struggled in the UK, with many closing in the last few years.

SideQuest, a chain of gaming cafes across the UK, closed three of its four venues last year. Only its Charing Cross store in central London remains.

Meanwhile, its Elephant & Castle, Coventry, and Canterbury locations all ceased operations back on November 30th.

And before that, SideQuest had also closed venues in Leicester and Westfield Stratford City Centre with the latter not lasting very long.

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

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