Gamestop Has Suddenly Closed 19 Illinois Stores in the Past Month

There have sadly been many retail chains that have announced mass closings of locations. I am not aware of Gamestop making any such announcements recently, but I've learned they have suddenly closed at least 19 Illinois stores in the past month alone.

There is a website that is dedicated to covering the closing of Gamestop stores. It's appropriately named the Gamestop Closing List. If you look at the closings that have just happened so far in 2025, you'll see an astounding amount of stores. They say that the list of closings in January of 2025 is the biggest they've seen so far. Here are the 19 Illinois Gamestops that are now closed for good:

• Store # 3819 - Arlington Heights, IL - Northpoint S.C., 214 E. Rand Rd.
• Store #5011 - Aurora, IL - Meijer Subdivision, 848 N. Rt. 59
• Store #2286 - Berwyn, IL - Berwyn Towne Square, 6631 Roosevelt Rd.
• Store #7588 - Carpentersville, IL - Spring Hill Center, 27 S. Western Ave.
• Store #408 - Chicago, IL - North Campbell, 2506 W. North Ave.
• Store #1774 - Chicago, IL - Kedzie Center, 5835 S. Kedzie Ave.
• Store #3593 - Collinsville, IL - Collinsville Crossing, 1120 Collinsville Crsg.
• Store #545 - Crestwood, IL - Rivercrest Centre, 13148 Cicero Ave.
• Store #7587 - Decatur, IL - 235 E. Ash Ave.
• Store #6166 - Freeport, IL - Southgate Plaza, 2705 IL Rt. 26 S
• Store #5842 - Galesburg, IL - Seminary Square, 2779 Volunteer Dr.
• Store #7734 - Glen Carbon, IL - North Glen S.C., 3022 S. State Rt. 159
• Store #5068 - Glenview, IL - Glen Town Center, 1865 Tower Dr.
• Store #547 - Harwood Heights, IL - Harwood Commons, 4715 N. Harlem Ave.
• Store #6099 - Lockport, IL - Lockport Square, 16113 S. Farrell Rd.
• Store #6494 - Melrose Park, IL - Melrose Park S.C., 1501 W. North Ave.
• Store #3818 - Rockford, IL - 3818 W. Riverside Blvd.
• Store #4324 - Schaumburg, IL - Woodfield Mall, #327
• Store #3053 - Sterling, IL - Pine Tree Plaza, 4311 E. Lincolnway

Why is Gamestop closing so many Illinois locations in 2025?

It's a complicated answer. Gamestop has done everything it can to remain viable in a world where video games have transitioned to digital downloads instead of physical game disks or cartridges. It's hard for these brick and mortar stores to compete with the immediacy of having a game downloaded directly to your PC or console without the need of going into a store.

I am actually one of the people who is still hoping that Gamestop can find a way to find a successful way forward. I enjoy taking my kids into their stores to look at the games and talking to staff about which latest games are good and which are not. It looks like Gamestop stores as we know them will inevitably disappear unless they can figure out a new strategy.