The metamorphosis from Babbage's into GameStop began with a series of mergers. The first was with Software Etc., a deal in which Babbage’s Etc. LLC was formed.
In 1999, Babbage’s Etc. was sold to Barnes & Noble. The next merger was with Funco, Inc., which was acquired by Barnes & Noble in June 2000. Following this acquisition, Babbage’s Etc became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Funco. At the end of 2000, Funco changed its name to GameStop and, in 2002, the company completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
In late 2004, GameStop spun off from Barnes & Noble with its buy back of six million shares of stock from the book seller. GameStop then proceeded to acquire Electronics Boutique (EB Games) in 2005. In Jan. 2007, GameStop purchased Rhino Video Games from Blockbuster. The company also executed a two for one stock split in March of 2007.
In Aug. of 2008, R. Richard Fontaine became GameStop Corp. Executive Chairman, and Dan DeMatteo replaced him as CEO. Paul Raines joined the Company as Chief Operating Officer. Also in 2008, GameStop acquired Micromania, France's leading video game retailer.
In 2009, GameStop took a major step by initiating a digital growth strategy that included a Nov. acquisition of Jolt Online Gaming, an Ireland-based publisher of free-to-play titles.
In July of 2010, GameStop acquired Kongregate, a leading free-to-play social gaming destination. 2010 also saw the launch of GameStop® PowerUp Rewards™, a best-in-class customer loyalty program that now boasts more than 14.5 million members.
In March of 2011, GameStop again executed on its digital growth strategy, acquiring streaming technology company Spawn Labs and digital distribution service Impulse.
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