Game store GameStop’s NFT marketplace has its worst revenue day only weeks after opening

US retailer GameStop recorded the worst day of its NFT marketplace since it launched a few weeks ago.

GameStop, a brick-and-mortar game store in the US and owner of EB Games, had its worst day yet with its experimental NFT marketplace, which revenue dipping as low as $18 per hour.

In a post on Reddit’s “wallstreetbets”, a subreddit focused on investments and finance, a user tracking the GameStop NFT Marketplace recognised that the controversial marketplace was having its worst 24 hours yet — dipping down to around $18 per hour before rising slightly back up. This has resulted in a pause in “minting”, which means new NFTs are not being made.

NFTs are collectable digital tokens that are unique, but don’t provide any tangible benefits and are generally harmful to the environment due to the computational power needed to generate them. Buyers and sellers can access the marketplace to buy, sell or browse in cryptocurrency, which also relies on computational power to generate.

NFTs and cryptocurrency are unpopular in some circles due to the reasons listed above but also have a tendency to fluctuate in price wildly, or crash and become unavailable for people who buy in.

GameStop is known for its brick-and-mortar stores selling physical copies of games and related merchandise. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

GameStop, a company primarily known for selling physical copies of games alongside Funko Pops and gaming merch in brick-and-mortar stores, recently announced its foray into NFTs to plenty of controversies. The company had been on the decline in sales in recent years, due to the popularity of Amazon and digital downloading options, and announcing its involvement with NFTs led many to believe that the company was wasting resources.

That certainly showed in the past 24 hours — a chart posted in the subreddit showed the highest point of revenue at approximately $675, while the lowest being the aforementioned $18 per hour, with total revenue for the 24-hour period sitting at $6700.

GameStop’s NFT Marketplace, while young, has already had its share of controversies.

It recently was discovered that the marketplace was selling a horrific NFT based on the infamous 9/11 photo “The Falling Man.” This marketplace venture comes shortly after reports of systemic labour abuse at the stores that made GameStop what it was, with brutal notes being posted during employee walkouts.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.