GameStop undertakes a 'big' round of layoffs, crypto team reportedly impacted
Quick Take
- Gaming retailer GameStop is cutting employees in e-commerce product, engineering and blockchain efforts.
- The firm joins Meta, Coinbase and others in the web3 industry to reduce employee headcount.
GameStop joins Meta, Coinbase, and a slew of other companies working on web3 initiatives in cutting its employee headcount this year.
Daniel Williams, a Lead Software Engineer at GameStop, said on LinkedIn that another "big" round of layoffs is happening at the firm and that “lots of” GameStop employees are getting cut, mainly in e-commerce product and engineering fields.
Employees working on GameStop’s blockchain wallet have also been affected, according to Axios. The total scale of the layoffs is still unclear.
The Block contacted GameStop for comment but did not immediately hear back before publication time.
GameStop laid off staff in July after firing then-CFO Mike Recupero, CNBC reported at the time.
GameStop made major moves in the web3 space this year by launching an NFT marketplace and crypto wallet. It also attempted to crack into the burgeoning blockchain-based gaming ecosystem by partnering with Immutable, the team behind Immutable X — which undergirds many popular web3 games such as Gods Unchained and Illuvium.
However, the gaming retailer lost its Head of Blockchain Matt Finestone on Sept. 12. GameStop also partnered with the crypto exchange FTX to sell FTX gift cards about two months before FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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