GameStop's new promotion will let players return a newly purchased game and trade it for full store credit, provided they be returned within 48 hours.
The program, first brought to light by Cheap Ass Gamer, is called "Guaranteed to Love It," which launches next week alongside Days Gone.
GameStop Guaranteed To Love It Program
Of course, as with anything that sounds too good to be true, there are caveats. The promotion window will only during the first week of a game's actual release date, for starters. Plus, GameStop will specify during various times which titles are eligible. For example, Days Gone is out April 26, but GameStop says customers will only be able to claim a full credit refund if they purchase the game between April 25 to 28. In other words, customers can't buy the game at any time and still take advantage of the promotion.
If gamers don't "love it," they can trade the open item back to the store for the full price of $59.99. Tax, however, is not refundable, and the deal only applies to the standard physical edition of the game. Open-world zombie action game Days Gone from Sony's Bend studio will be the first and possibly only game eligible for the Guaranteed to Love It program. GameStop has yet to clarify whether this is a one-time thing or more games will be added to the program in the future.
"True to our core promise, today's announcement is a testament that GameStop is committed to giving power to the players — and our 'Guaranteed to Love It' trade promotion offers our customers the peace and mind of buying video games inside our retail stores at no risk, beginning with Days Gone next week," GameStop said in a statement to Polygon.
Days Gone itself will reportedly take 30 hours to beat. For players who can easily breeze through that stretch of playthrough in one sitting, Guaranteed to Love It is a boon. For others, it might not be such a great deal.
Why It Makes Sense
In any case, it's a worthy experiment to try on GameStop's part. Earlier this month, the video game retailer reported a net loss of $673 million for the fiscal year of 2018, which ended Feb. 2, and included the sale of its Spring Mobile division in January for $700 million. At the same time, it shared the bleak news, the company also announced that it was going to implement a "cost savings and profit improvement initiative" that would include "supply chain efficiencies, operational improvements, expense savings and pricing and promotion optimization."
