The company was founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage's, and took on its current name in 1999. The company's performance declined during the mid-to-late 2010s due to the shift of video game sales to online shopping and failed investments by GameStop in smartphone retail. In 2021, the company's stock price skyrocketed due to a short squeeze orchestrated by users of the Internet forum r/wallstreetbets. The company is now ranked 521st on the Fortune 500.