GameStop saw its share prices climb in overnight trading and still up on Friday morning (Jan. 7) following news that the video game retailer, meme stock and Reddit cult favorite was hiring a team for a new cryptocurrency and nonfungible token (NFT) division, according to multiple media reports.
The news prompted after-hour traders to drive the price of GME up 26% to $162.48 at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday (Jan. 6), with an opening price on Friday (Jan. 7) of $157.59 at 9:30 a.m.
The retailer started working on an NFT marketplace in May and by October was advertising for open positions for Web3 and NFT-experienced software engineers and product marketers.
See also: GameStop Looks for NFT Content Creators for Its Marketplace
GameStop has so far hired over 20 people to run the division, which will buy, sell, and trade virtual video game merchandise like avatar clothing, accessories, and weapons, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Certain game developers and publishers will be asked by GameStop to list the NFTs on their marketplaces when everything rolls out later in 2022, the sources said.
The company is said to be establishing industry partnerships and will soon likely close two collaboration deals with cryptocurrency firms. It’s expected the partnerships will involve the sharing of technology, co-investments in blockchain development and NFT games, and brainstorming additional NFT projects.
Sources told the news outlet that GameStop anticipates that it will sign partnership agreements with 12 or more cryptocurrency firms and invest “tens of millions of dollars in them this year.”
Read more: GameStop Opens NFT, Web3 Opportunities
Headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, GameStop was mired in losses for many years before an unexpected stock market frenzy that sprung from viral social media posts on Reddit re-calibrated its business trajectory. The company went on to revamp its operations and leadership team and is looking to the future and staying on top of what’s next.
GameStop is one of many companies trying to game NFT marketplaces. Earlier this week, OpenSea raised $300 million in venture capital at a $13.3 billion valuation. GameStop’s valuation is almost $10 billion.