GameStop Fires CEO Matt Furlong

As the crypto market regresses daily, GameStop has terminated the appointment of CEO Matt Furlong. The ex-CEO joined the gaming firm two years ago and has been pivotal in expanding GameStop Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) marketplace. 

GameStop is yet to replace the CEO but has promoted some members of its team. Ryan Cohen, Chewy's former founder and  CEO has been promoted to executive chairman. Mark Robinson has also resumed roles as the company’s general manager and “principal executive officer”, having served as GameStop’s general counsel. 

The termination of Furlong’s appointment has decreased investors’ confidence in GameStop. A while after the announcement, the gaming firm’s share price depleted by 19% to approximately $21 per share. Notably, GameStop’s share peaked at over $26 per share earlier this year. 

GameStop Partnership With Illuvium 

Furlong’s absence would attract months of retreat from all previously invested efforts. In December, the ex-CEO mentioned that the gaming platform would recenter its focus on core pillars like video games, pre-owned items, and collectibles.  GameStop has also decreased its involvement in NFT and crypto-related initiatives. However, GameStop recently completed a partnership deal with Illuvium. As it stands, no one knows GameStop’s current plight in the Web3 industry.

The partnership deal between GameStop and Immutable X lacks adequate transparency DappRadar has failed to give a defined amount of sales executed through the newly onboarded platform. Another website, GMFT.xyz has suggested that the platform has generated about $17.3 million in sales through the platform. As reported in the deal, Immutable provided a $100 million fund to offer token grants to game developers. Surprisingly, GameStop sold off $47 million worth of IMX tokens a few hours after the February 2022 announcement.