COMPUTER game fans have flocked to the high street over the years to pick up the latest releases for Playstation and Nintendo consoles.
One shop, Game, has been a familiar name for shoppers since the early 90s, and can still be found in many towns and cities today.
The shop is now owned by Frasers Group after being taken over in 2019.
Frasers Group is the company founded by Mike Ashley and is behind well-known brands like House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Flannels among others.
Is Game closing down?
Game has over 240 stores across the country at the time of writing.
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But Frasers Group has shut some locations in recent months, including locations in Devon and Wales among them.
Plus other sites have been earmarked for closure in future too.
Some of these locations have offered big discounts on stock before shutting their doors for good.
Why is Game closing down stores?
Game owner Frasers Group hasn't given a reason for closing these stores.
But in some instances they have moved location, or have reopened in other Frasers Group stores like Sports Direct.
For example the Game in Newport, Wales shut in October 2023. But just a few days later it opened in the Sports Direct on the same street.
Some retailers close branches here and there for various reasons, like when a store lease has come to an end.
Other examples of one-off rather than widespread closures is if there are changes in the area, like a shopping centre closing.
And in some cases a shop will close to relocate to another area where there are more shoppers.
Some chains have faced tougher conditions though, including rising rents and energy costs along with a falling number of shoppers on the high street, forcing them to shut dozens of stores, or all of them in the worst case.
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Game isn't the only name under the Frasers Group umbrella to close or move in to another shop.
It has opened a new concept department store that's home to several brands including Game and Sports Direct, as well as its designer shop Flannels.
Frasers opened in Norwich. Norfolk, last September with more to follow in Blackpool and Sheffield.
The new-style Frasers shops host several other Frasers Group's brands like Belong, USC and Evans Cycles.
It follows the closure of several House of Fraser department stores, including in Sollihull, Cardiff, Birmingham, High Wycombe, Westfield Shepherd's Bush and Guildford.
Full list of Game stores that have closed
Nearly a dozen Game stores have closed so far or will do soon.
Here's a list including dates we know so far...
- Nuneaton, Warwickshire Ropewalk shopping centre- November 10
- Newport, Wales, on October 18, 2023 (relocated to Sports Direct)
- Exeter, Devon, Guildhall shopping centre - January (relocated to Sports Direct on Rydon Lane)
- Witney, Oxfordshire - January 7
- Rugby, Warwickshire - January 7
- Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire - January 14
- Plymouth, Devon - February 6
- Newton Abbot, Devon - March 17
- Grimsby, Lincolnshire - March 17
- Rhyl, Wales - spring
- Torquay, Devon - TBC
You can find your nearest Game store by using the store locator tool on its website.
