Microsoft and GameStop's New Agreement Doesn't Turn the Retail Chain into Xbox Stores

GameStop and Microsoft have entered into a new, multi-year partnership. What does it mean for customers? Not a whole lot, actually as the partnership appears to primarily impact GameStop’s back-end, transferring over GameStop systems over to Microsoft’s 365 cloud solutions. In a joint announcement, GameStop and Microsft announced a new multi-year partnership that will mostly see GameStop’s back-end solutions move over to Microsoft’s programs like Microsoft 365. This basically means GameStop stores will adopt Microsoft programs to help run business operations like sales and inventory, and store employees will use Microsoft 365 and Teams to communicate. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Stores will also get Microsoft Surface devices for store managers to use. Having worked retail, I’m sure the Surface devices will be an improvement over the standard retail computer systems. GameStop also confirmed that it will carry the Xbox All Access payment plan that lets customers purchase an Xbox Series X for $34.99 a month for 24 months. This isn’t particularly news as Microsoft announced GameStop would be an All Access retail partner back in September, along with Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. So no, GameStop’s 5,000 retail locations are not being converted to Microsoft Stores. In fact, most customers will likely not find any immediate impact from the news other than perhaps seeing more Microsoft Surface devices at store locations. Considering Microsoft closed all of its own retail stores earlier this year, it appears that Microsoft’s strategy is to integrate its popular cloud software into existing retailers while selling its devices through partners and online. For more on the upcoming Xbox Series X, check out IGN's Xbox Series X guide with specs, pricing, launch games, and more details. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.