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There’s been high potential that Best Buy is ending its GCU (Gamers Club Unlocked), a membership where customers can buy games (new and used) for 20% off. This included strategy guides and collector editions. A fantastic membership for gamers, especially as Amazon started to cut down their video game offers to Prime members for the last couple years.
Right now, you cannot order the membership online and from what we are hearing, Best Buy employees received a memo that the membership would be ending. Current members will still be able to use the membership until it expires. New members and those who are looking to upgrade are out of luck. Best Buy also wants to encourage customers to use their free “My Best Buy” membership to pre-order games to receive $10 reward certificates. Meh.
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
As to why Best Buy has decided to end the membership? No word yet. We can only speculate that the membership deals may have given a blow to Best Buy’s cashflow or maybe because Amazon has diminish their video game deals so much, Best Buy may have thought it was good time to take it away.
For gamers who relied on the membership to get game deals, well there’s other options such as Amazon. While Amazon has made it tricker to get game discounts, you can at least still get 20% off if you pre-order the game before it releases. Unfortunately, collector editions and strategy guides do not count as that was taken away years ago, especially the option to purchase any game for 20% off after release date. Other options? Buy the game used or wait for sales. Hang in there gamers, we know the pain!