GameStop to continue providing its "essential" services, no matter what local governments say
Today, in news that makes a lot more sense once you realize that Funko Pops and Kingdom Hearts keychains are about to become the only acceptable currency humanity has left: The GameStop empire—a series of corporately owned pawnshops and ThinkGeek merchandise outlets that also begrudgingly sometimes sell new video games—has dubbed itself an “essential retail” location that won’t be shutting down during the COVID-19 coronavirus panic. This is per Vice, which reports that employees at the global chain have been given fliers to hand to police officers curious as to why the stores might still be operating in communities under the effects of yet-to-be-announced lockdown orders. (Fun fact: GameStop employees have reportedly not been sent cleaning supplies to keep these still-open stores sterile, although presumably the fliers can be used to wipe some of their surfaces down.)