It’s not uncommon to hear about entire GameStop stores these days mass abandonment as working conditions at the video game retailer continue to deteriorate. It’s rarer for employees to quit the day the biggest game of the year comes out. But that’s apparently what happened that day at a store in Michigan The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came out.
“Unfortunately, due to poor working conditions, Brighton GameStop staff have decided to step down with immediate effect,” read a notice posted outside the store. “Management overworkes, underpays and undervalues its frontline workers, sets unrealistic expectations and constantly threatens to fire any employee who fails to exceed those expectations.”
A photo of the note was posted on Facebook by a customer named Chris Cannaert and subsequently reported by local media after a tweet It went viral through gaming deals account Nintendodeal. Cannaert told my city He visited the store on May 12, the day Tears of the Kingdom started to look for collectibles. “I got there just before it opened and saw the sign,” he said. “While I was there, five people stopped by to pick up the pre-order zelda.”
GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tears of the KingdomThe start was a huge day because the ailing retailer turned around Meme stock phenomenon. There was In some places, lines form around the blockand several current employees told my city They have been inundated with in-store purchases and online orders. “I have to say this is the biggest game release I’ve seen in years. not even new Pokemon “The Games were so important to us,” said a current employee. Some stores had hundreds of copies and still had to turn customers away Who hasn’t pre-ordered the game?.
Many stores were hosting midnight launches and Cannaert said he had heard from other customers that the Brighton location was one of them, where die-hard fans could get their copies of the game the night before launch. It’s not clear if the workforce planned to quit early the next day or if the midnight start was something that upset them. A new employee at the Brighton site declined to comment on the situation but said my city that the store finally reopened on Tears of the Kingdom Start day within three hours after the withdrawals.
Though his meme inventory continues to defy logic first profitable quarter GameStop employees have continued to experience high turnover for years, Lack of meaningful raisesand greater pressure than ever to hit unrealistic sales metrics. As a result, even some longtime employees got tired of continuing to work there, and occasionally Entire shops had to close temporarily amid staff shortages.
“To all our loyal guests, we deeply regret this inconvenience,” the Brighton store said in a statement. “We value each and every one of you and your other business, but I literally can’t pay my rent.”
