GameStop Launches Its NFT Marketplace Just As NFT Sales Turmoil

GameStop celebrated the launch of its NFT marketplace on Monday. The marketplace is accessible for crypto wallets such as MetaMask and GameStop’s own recently created wallet. “The Company’s NFT marketplace is a non-custodial, Ethereum Layer 2-based marketplace that enables parties to truly own their digital assets, which are represented and secured on the blockchain,” GameStop said in its release. “Over time, the marketplace will expand functionality to encompass additional categories such as Web3 gaming, more creators and other Ethereum environments.”

GameStop's business has struggled over the past decade as people increasingly buy games online, a trend pronounced enough that Sony offers a digital-only PlayStation 5 . With a customer base in flux, the company now eyes the lucrative NFT market, which was last year worth $25 billion. In addition to its newly-launched marketplace, GameStop also offers its own.

In a company-wide email shared with Yahoo Finance, GameStop’s chief executive officer Matthew Furlong noted that the effort came after partnerships with the crypto infrastructure builder Immutable and the 2nd-layer application Loopring, which allows developers to build crypto exchanges on top of Ethereum.

“Our leadership team is committed to profitably growing our commerce business and launching new products, including those developed by our blockchain team,” Furlong wrote. “Executing on these objectives will position us to evolve with our customers as collectibles, entertainment and gaming become increasingly intertwined with the digital asset and web3 communities.”

This announcement comes after a busy week for GameStop, with the company proposing a 4-for-1 stock split, announcing its CFO would leave the business, and outlining plans to fire 25pc of its corporate staff.