GameStop, if you don’t already know, is a popular brick and mortar store for selling game consoles and video games alongside with merchandises and whatnot. GameStop is huge in the U.S. but over the past few years, they experienced a decline because of online game stores that we talked about recently.

GameStop used to be the one-stop centre for all things about gaming. Ranging from game consoles itself to game titles, merchandise, toys, and props. Some games even have GameStop exclusives too.

As time goes on, we have Steam and the rise of digital distribution ultimate reigned supreme as GameStop share prices have been declining as services like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network were announced too.

Over the years of declination, GameStop was actually searching for a buyer but to no avail. Just yesterday, GameStop has announced that they have stopped searching for a buyer. This means that they have essentially given up, and the shareholders have also given up, as seen on their share price drop.

GameStop closing

With that said, this is a typical story of how the giants fall from grace because they refuse to change. Even Steam is having a tough time with the arrival of Epic Games Store. The highly-anticipated game, Metro: Exodus, is due to launch in about a month – and it has now become an Epic Games Store exclusive.

That comes with a price to pay – literally. Epic Games Store pays the developers much better compared to Steam, which is a natural enticement for developers to jump over to Epic Games Store.

However, the question remains – piracy. When we first talked about the multiple online games stores popping out of nowhere, we also talked about the increase in piracy. Now, it is happening. As Metro: Exodus becomes an Epic Games Store exclusive, we have seen many comments and even memes saying that they will never buy the game if it is not on Steam, and waits for the cracked version instead.

Just read the comments of this post.

The argument continues – is the continuously growing number of online games store bad for the developers? Technically, it is like self-cannibalization after all. And it seems like piracy rise again thanks to the fragmentation of game title distribution.

Look, there is a year’s worth of exclusivity granted to Epic Games Store for Metro: Exodus. If you absolutely hate Epic Games Store and only want to buy that game from Steam, you’ll have to wait a year. No one wants to wait that long – hence piracy.

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