In a surprising turn of events, Best Buy’s Gamer’s Club Unlocked may have been discontinued. The program originally ran at a cost of $30 for 2 years while offering 20% off all new games. This also stacked with any sales, with an exception to Black Friday.
We first heard of this potential cancellation thanks to Twitter user @videogamedeals. They revealed that the program potentially ended earlier this morning. This comes as a shock to those that are still current members.
The Best Buy Reddit & Best Buy Forums have multiple posts saying GCU is dead. A few people have tweeted at me saying it is dead as well which is why I called up Best Buy Customer Support Earlier Today. The problem is I don't have any hard evidence that it is going away. pic.twitter.com/j4d9CPhQxD
— Cheap Ass Gamer (@videogamedeals) May 18, 2018
At the beginning of the day, Best Buy announced that their Gamer’s Club program will no longer be purchasable online. Gamers would have to head to their local stores in order to activate their memberships. This was due to a slew of technical problems and complaints. The codes purchased online were unable to be activated normally which caused delays. The company did not say that the program was ending due to this.
Now, posts on the official Best Buy forums and Reddit have popped up stating its cancellation. One post, in particular, showcased one store’s removal of advertising regarding the Gamer’s Club. Managers and customers have all been reporting that the service is no more and all signage was to be taken down.
As of writing, the discount does not apply to games online until the checkout screen. Previously, subscribers could see the discount displayed on each listing.
So far, there has been no official word from the retailer about its future plans for the program. Although a mod for the Best Buy Reddit named, Merkelmore, who is labeled as corporate, has stated that:
“That is admittedly an awkward way for stores to find out about this. We won’t be accepting new members. Signage will be removed in the coming days. Current members will continue to receive benefits.”
A memo from corporate to store employees have also begun circulating that the program has come to an end.
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
We have reached out to Best Buy Support for comment, but nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.