Just When the Market Is Collapsing, GameStop Jumps Into NFTs

Kotaku reported that GameStop just unveiled its NFT marketplace with this tweet:

But the most important question: Is this the right time to do so?

GameStop's NFT Marketplace

According to Protocol, the NFT marketplace was first announced by GameStop in early February, with further details revealed during the company's fourth-quarter results call on Thursday.

By the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 falling in July, the company plans to launch the NFT marketplace.

It was worth noting that the company hired dozens of employees with experience in blockchain gaming, product refurbishment, e-commerce and technology, and operations.

To get the marketplace and NFT plans off the ground, GameStop teamed up with Immutable X, an Australian game company.

To keep prices low, the duo established a $100 million fund for NFT gamers, and Immutable X promised that there would be no gas fees for minting and trading NFTs. In addition, GameStop will receive $150 million in IMX tokens if certain milestones are met.

Sales of NFTs Plunge Amid Crypto Market Crash

Crypto News reported last week that the sales of the NFT collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Otherdeed have plummeted amid the broader crypto market slump.

BAYC's revenues have dropped by roughly 39% two weeks ago, while the collection's floor price has dropped by more than 18%.

In fact, Yuga Labs' NFT collection Otherdeed, which nearly crashed the Ethereum (ETH) network when it was launched, has had its sales drop by 86%.

In addition, the number of new buyers for these collections has decreased. The number of new BAYC buyers has declined by 19.6% in the last 2 weeks, while the number of new buyers in Otherdeed has dropped by 67.6%.

All of this is taking place against a recent backdrop of market volatility.

GameStop Sued by an Employee Over Labor Law Violation

A Polygon report mentioned that a former GameStop employee is suing the video game retail company for allegedly breaking the New York Labor Law.

Trevon Mack, a GameStop retail employee from 2016 to 2020, filed the proposed class action suit in New York's eastern district court on Wednesday.

According to Mack and his lawyer, GameStop employees qualify as "manual laborers," meaning that 25% of their employment entails manual labor, such as sorting stockrooms, transporting parcels, and standing for a lengthy shift.

A manual worker is defined by the state as "a mechanic, workingman, or laborer," which has been construed as a person who spends more than 25% of their working day doing "physical labor."

GameStop is said to pay its employees every other week, while New York Labor Law Section 191 mandates that employers pay manual laborers every week.

The suit claims that GameStop is breaking state labor laws by not doing so.