GameStop has been through a lot of problems over the years, and its mettle is facing its toughest battle yet, as the company attempts to right the ship among consistently significant financial losses, giant format changes to several different stores, and most recently, a botched response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Due to the pandemic, March has been a harsh month for businesses everywhere and GameStop is no exception, with the company announcing that all GameStop storefront will be closed for the foreseeable future (digital and pick-up are still available) - an announcement it made just days ago.

Indeed, GameStop’s response and timing to the novel coronavirus pandemic has been heavily criticized over the weeks that it happened. Controversially, before GameStop was forced to close all storefronts in California due to the governor’s mandate, it made an attempt to classify itself as an essential business in order to stay open. Here is a timeline of GameStop’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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GameStop's Problems From December to February

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GameStop was going through a tough time before the virus got anywhere near the level it’s at today. Back in December 2019, hardware sales from the company fell by almost 50%, with GameStop blaming the PS5 and Xbox Series X as the main culprits behind its losses for the period. The company suggested that anticipation for the new consoles, which are due to arrive later this holiday season, has caused a sharp decline in new and used hardware purchases. GameStop’s generally rough 2019 holiday season was also cited as the reason behind a bunch of its stores closing and its lay-offs.

GameStop closed several dozens of stores across Europe and the U.S. along with laying off many district managers in charge of those stores and beyond. This financially ugly period of time for the company also created a sharp drop in its stock value, which only compounded all of its problems. As 2020 came about, executives at GameStop seemed to be looking onward toward the future with high hopes, as this is going to be the year when the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch (unless the next-gen consoles get delayed). However, the quick spread of the virus has taken down those hopes, just as quickly as it spread.

GameStop's Current Responses to the Coronavirus

On the week of March 8, GameStop released a statement outlining the steps that it would be taking in order to ensure the safety of its customers. Note, the focus on this message was specifically referring to GameStop’s customers, not its employees this time around. It stated that cleaning supplies were being delivered and that staff were instructed to do all they can to ensure the customer’s safety, also revealing that GameStop formed a coronavirus taskforce in order to deal with the situation regarding its stores.

Things started to get ugly quick after that. A few days after it announced its taskforce, it was discovered that GameStop staff were not receiving cleaning supplies, as promised. This was mainly due to supplier issues (many people and companies are still having problems securing supplies), so employees had to resort to purchasing supplies themselves along with other measures. On March 18, GameStop announced the cancellation of midnight launches for the foreseeable future as well (along with other in-store events) in order to combat the virus’ spread further. It also decided to sell Doom Eternal a day early for the same reason.

The most controversial decision it made, though, came a day later when GameStop publicly declared itself to be an “essential” business and therefore couldn’t and shouldn’t close down amid the outbreak. The company claimed that because of its sales of webcams, keyboards, and the like, GameStop stores should be kept open during the pandemic, in a time when more people are self-isolating indoors and need more online accessories to communicate with other people. This was immediately met with backlash online, as more and more people started to pile on the company, suggesting that it was negligent to both its employees and the public for its decision.

GameStop even doubled down on its decision, later tweeting out the precautionary steps it would be taking with its employees, such as limiting store hours and having its staff stay six feet apart from everyone (which really doesn’t matter if everyone’s taking and giving boxes to each other). It wasn’t until California’s mandate to shut all businesses down - and the public and, presumably, internal outcry - that GameStop finally caved and decided to shut all of its stores across the U.S. as well. With curbside pickups and online orders for games still operating, at least GameStop finally took the necessary steps in order to safeguard both its customers and its staff.

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