THE retail giant Game fell into administration owing almost £16 million, as it disappeared from high streets across the UK, it has emerged.
Game Retail Limited, which at one point had stores across Scotland, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen and Stirling, and 600 more UK-wide, closed the last of its high street outlets in February.
The retailer specialised in games consoles and games but faced financial struggles as the industry moved towards digital downloads from physical media.
The business first went into administration in 2011, which resulted in 300 stores being closed in 2012, and was taken over by the British entrepreneur Mike Ashley in 2019.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Airport passengers warned rule change could see them denied entry to Spain
Despite building back profitability, the firm collapsed once again, and an administration report has outlined that creditors face losing £12m after its collapse, according to The Herald.
James Saunders and Lauren Wentworth, of KR8 Advisory, were appointed joint administrators in April, and have outlined their final efforts to save Game in their report.
Game reportedly owed £15.8m when it was placed into administration, including £3.5m to the secured creditor and £12m to unsecured creditors.
The Game brand was originally established in 1990, but the company was incorporated as Game Retail Limited after its acquisition in 2011.
Administrators noted Game became one of the UK’s leading high street retailers of video games and consoles since it was founded in the 90s.
“The company started trading in 2012 following the acquisition of the UK trade and assets of the former The Game Group Plc out of administration,” they said.
“At the point of acquisition, the business operated over 300 retail stores together with two e-commerce platforms under the Game and Gamestation brand names.
“Following the completion of the acquisition, the company consolidated its operations under the single Game brand and undertook a financial and operational review, which resulted in the closure of certain loss-making stores but included plans to open new stores.”
Game returned to profitability, but for the year end in July 2016, the firm reported a 10% drop in revenue to £584m along with a decline in profit before tax of 71% to £6.8m.
In 2017, the company’s turnover declined again, and was at £493m while posting an operating loss before tax of £7.1m.
“Market conditions remained difficult in the subsequent years driven by changes in consumer behaviour, including the transition from physical games to digital downloads, uncertainty associated with Brexit, and increased competition within the sector,” the administrators said.
In 2019 Game’s loss had increased to £43m with a turnover of £423m.
READ MORE: Andy Burnham to have 'change of emphasis' on North Sea oil and gas, Labour MP says
It was later agreed that shareholder Frasers Group, led by Sport Direct owner Ashley, would acquire the company’s intellectual property for a cash consideration in a bid “to support the ongoing business and make payment of outstanding rent due on the head office”.
“Despite these efforts, the company’s financial position continued to deteriorate during the final quarter of 2025, which historically had been one of the busiest trading months for the business,” the report noted.
“There have been no major console releases since 2020, and large manufacturers have cited global chip shortages as a reason for further delays.”
The report outlined how physical products had changed and that the business would pivot to a digital-first launch of new titles.
They added that concessions across the country remained open, with a majority of branches moved into Sport Direct stores, after Frasers pivoted to keep the brand alive.
The retailer moved most staff onto zero-hour contracts in April 2025 before reducing its management team.
It also abandoned its pre-owned games business, Xbox All Access scheme, and in-store pre-orders, last year as well.
“Having reviewed the company's financial and operational position” the administrators said it "was concluded that the business was no longer viable.”
“The secured creditor notified the board it was no longer in a position to support the ongoing funding of the company," they added.
READ MORE: Josh Kerr 'made Scotland proud' after breaking world record, John Swinney says
The adminstrators it is “anticipated there may be sufficient realisations available to enable a distribution to be made to the secured creditor”.
They continued: “It is currently anticipated that there will be insufficient funds available to enable a distribution to be made to unsecured creditors, other than by way of the prescribed part.”
