History of the demise of GameStop NFT business: Is it a profitable business for traditional companies to enter NFT?

Original Title: "The Rise and Fall of GameStop's NFT Business: Is Entering the NFT Market a Profitable Venture for Traditional Companies?"

Original Author: Andrew Hayward

Translated by: AI Assistant

NFT used to be not only the darling of the cryptocurrency market, but also a panacea for traditional companies to attract attention and boost business.

Among them, including the well-known GameStop.

In 2021, readers with memories will surely remember the scene where GameStop's stock saw a surge in retail investors rising up and beating Wall Street's elite capital. Institutions believed that its traditional retail business was weak and shorted its stock, but retail investors' buying enthusiasm soared, ultimately leading to an epic short squeeze, causing huge financial losses for institutions' hedge funds.

Meanwhile, GameStop itself has actively embraced NFTs in an attempt to alleviate its business woes.

However, less than three years after first expressing interest in NFTs, GameStop has decided to abandon its NFT market.

From the spirit totem of equal rights for retail investors, to embracing crypto and actively seeking change, to finally leaving in disappointment... How did GameStop come this far and why did they give up their business? For traditional companies, is NFT a profitable business?

From the timeline of business changes compiled by Decrypt, perhaps we can find some inspiration.

2021 April: Game Station is hiring a blockchain analyst

In April 2021, GameStop released a job posting for a blockchain security analyst, indicating their plans to promote NFTs. At the time, a fintech recruiter suggested that due to the focus on security in the position, it is likely that GameStop is planning to launch some "serious" things in the cryptocurrency industry.

2021 May: Game Station Launches Mysterious Website

In May 2021, GameStop announced through a simple login page that it is continuing to recruit employees for its blockchain project. It is not yet clear whether they will launch NFT collectibles, tokens, a marketplace, or something completely different.

However, this login page contains many hints and Easter eggs, such as the link to GameStop's Ethereum smart contract, which obtained an NFT from Immutable's Gods Unchained card game. The teaser website also hides an "endless runner" browser game.

2022 January: Blockchain Department Established

By January 2022, GameStop had established its blockchain department and hired 20 employees to work on its upcoming cryptocurrency plan. After the news was released, GameStop's stock rose by 31%.

February 2022: Agreement Reached with Immutable + $100 Million Fund

GameStop announced in February 2022 that it will be partnering with crypto startup Immutable to launch a $100 million grant fund. The fund will provide Immutable's IMX tokens to developers who wish to use the Immutable X blockchain and collaborate with GameStop to release their NFTs.

This news also confirms that GameStop will use the Immutable X blockchain in its upcoming NFT marketplace (GameStop's marketplace also uses another Ethereum scaling solution, Loopring).

So far, GameStop has remained silent about its blockchain plan.

February 2022: GameStop sells IMX worth $47 million

The situation is a bit awkward. GameStop sold IMX tokens worth $47 million, causing the price of IMX to plummet 23% in 24 hours. Although token payment was part of a pre-arranged transaction, outsiders may see this as GameStop seeking immediate cash-out and profiting from its cryptocurrency partnerships - even before launching any crypto products.

2022 May: GameStop launches NFT Twitter account and wallet

GameStop has launched a GameStop NFT Twitter account dedicated to promoting its NFT program. In May 2022, the account wrote, "What the internet did for communication, blockchain did for value." It added that a public, permissionless, and trusted layer of value empowers players and promotes the potential benefits of cryptocurrency. However, NFT sales in the market have gradually started to decline at this time.

In May of the same year, GameStop also launched its browser extension for encryption and NFT wallets, and released many different wallet patch updates throughout the year on Twitter.

2022 July: NFT market launch and layoffs

In July 2022, after suffering huge losses for a month, GameStop fired its CFO and laid off employees in its business department. A few days later, it launched the long-awaited NFT marketplace beta, which requires NFT creators to submit applications for approval before listing or minting on its platform.

GameStop's NFT market had a trading volume of over 3100 Ethereum, worth approximately $3.5 million, in the first two days after its launch. While this is relatively small compared to the largest NFT markets such as OpenSea, GameStop has surpassed Coinbase's NFT market efforts.

During this period, GameStop continued to encourage developers to apply for its $100 million funding program.

2022 October: GameStop finally adds gaming NFTs

After three months of launching its NFT market, GameStop has finally added Immutable X game NFTs to its platform. This means that NFT items or assets from games such as Gods Unchained, Illuvium, and Guild of Guardians can be bought and sold through GameStop's NFT market. Prior to this, GameStop only sold avatar-style NFTs and art NFTs on its platform.

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