The used game retailer will be branching out into PC distribution and streaming.
GameStop is looking to expand to new platforms and increase their digital offerings with a couple of new acquisitions. Spawn Labs, an online streaming company, will be integrated into GameStop’s R&D group, and the retailer says users will have immediate access to a wide selection of HD games on connected devices. Impulse Inc., meanwhile, is a digital distribution subsidiary of Stardock Systems, and will offer a library of more than 1,000 games and provide developers with tools to help monitor their games.
GameStop regularly comments on the increasing digitization of the medium, so this latest move is in line with everything the company has been saying over the past few months. The Impulse acquisition is particularly significant because it gives GameStop a distribution foothold outside the realm of traditional brick-and-mortar retail.
“With these important acquisitions, we will continue to make appropriate investments related to our multichannel strategy,” said a GameStop executive. “GameStop is uniquely positioned to be the leader in both the physical and digital gaming space.”
The GameStop/Impulse integration will take place over the course of the next few months and will not affect any current Impulse customers.
Sources: The Escapist and Forbes
