GameStop announced Wednesday that it will partner with nearly every major esports organization in Texas in what could be a pivotal move for a company that's been struggling for years to redefine itself.
One company executive billed the move as "giving power back to the players" _ a play on the company's motto, "Power to the Players."
Grapevine-based GameStop will work with professional esports teams including Complexity Gaming, which was acquired by Jerry Jones two years ago. Complexity Gaming's new headquarters at Frisco's The Star will be named the GameStop Performance Center, and GameStop claims that it will be the most advanced esports facility in the country.
The center will be a training ground for players and a place where fans can gather. It's expected to open in May.
GameStop will also work with two other behemoths in the esports industry, Infinite Esports and Team Envy. Team Envy is based in Dallas and owns the popular Overwatch League team Dallas Fuel while Infinite Esports owns the Fuel's Houston-based Overwatch League rivals. GameStop says it will provide exclusive merchandise and unique experiences at watch parties in a partnership with both companies.
GameStop wouldn't disclose how much it's investing in any of the partnerships or the performance center.
On top of its professional partnerships, the company announced that it will work with collegiate esports league Collegiate Star League and amateur esports crowdfunding platform Matcherino to sponsor amateur tournaments.
"We are aiming to become the official minor leagues of esports," GameStop chief marketing officer Frank Hamlin said in a statement. In the long term, Hamlin said last week that he sees a future in which GameStop becomes a gathering point for locals to compete with players at other locations.
Esports in North Texas are rapidly expanding, and cities have begun vying for partnerships with teams that would bring esports events closer to their residents. Arlington transformed its convention center into a $10 million sport arena, and Allen will hosta first-of-its-kind Overwatch League event in April.
"If you went and talked to Microsoft or Sony, and you looked where players came from, for whatever reason for many years the D-FW region has always indexed higher," Hamlin said.
Faced with the continual decline of physical video game sales, analysts have long wondered how GameStop could turn itself around.
The latest move marks a shift in the company's strategy as it doubles down on the idea that its stores and the GameStop brand as a whole are a cultural center for gamers _ amateur esports enthusiasts in particular.
Speculation about the former video game retail giant has swirled in recent months amid news that GameStop had decided not to sell itself and had named a new CEO in March who would lead the company in a shift away from selling games. Just last week, GameStop's stock slipped to a new 14-year low after Google announced that it was entering the video game space with streaming tech that some say could potentially eliminate the need for a physical console.
