Retail chain Best Buy laid its Gamers Club Unlocked membership to rest recently. The store released a memo regarding the club several days ago, stating that for various reasons, the chain would be ending the service nationwide. Best Buy employees were able to confirm the memo was real, and as of May 20th, it seems enrollment in the program is no longer possible. However, current members are still able to take advantage of it until their expiration date, making now a very good time to go out and buy the new games you’ve been waiting on.
Only thing I can contribute to the Best Buy GCU reports is that 'GCU is dead', the memo pictured below was sent out today to employees and is real, current GCU members will get benefits until membership expires but cannot be renewed.
RIP GCU pic.twitter.com/T2t2L93wlW
— Wario64 (@Wario64) May 18, 2018
Soon after the memo’s release, GCU members who attempted to buy games online found that the promised 20% discount was no longer showing up, leading many to believe that they would in fact not receive the program’s benefits. This, however, was simply a glitch in the website and has since been corrected. Best Buy so far has not hinted at a possible alternative to the GCU, so it’s likely a permanent end. Many gamers considered it one of the better discount services offered across online and physical retailers, and are now looking to Amazon in its absence. Gamestop’s Pro membership is also an option.
As stated in the memo, the My Best Buy program will live on, providing a 10% discount on select items, and isn’t limited to games. But for those who don’t mind purchasing previously-owned physical copies, auction sites are a good way to go, provided buyers have the patience to stick to their guns and let a few bids get away from them before they win one. It’s the main advantage the material has over the digital (side from special editions), since the latter rarely sees discounts more than a few dollars. There are plenty of options out there, it just takes some comparing and calculating to find the one that fits your needs.