Mumbai, October 9, 2026 GameStop and third-party resellers in India, as well as across Asia, have marked up the price of the used PlayStation 5 Pro console to approximately INR 1,00,000 (about US$1,400), according to officials. This price hike comes amidst a global shortage of the PS5, with the console selling for inflated prices on secondary markets. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued warnings about such price gouging, but enforcement actions are yet to be announced.
The PS5 Pro, released in November 2020, retails for $499.99 in the U.S. Established in 1984 as Babbage’s, GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer headquartered in Grapevine, Texas. The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide.
As of January 2026, the company operated 2,206 stores including 1,598 in the United States, 300 in Australia, and 308 in Europe under the GameStop, EB Games, Micromania-Zing, ThinkGeek, and Zing Pop Culture brands. GameStop’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, after retail investors on Reddit noticed that the short interest exceeded 100%, the company’s stock price skyrocketed from $17.25 to over US$500 per share.
According to the SEC report, this volatility was only in part due to the massive buying power of retail investors. The company received significant media attention during January and February 2021 due to the volatility of its stock price in the GameStop short squeeze; the company was ranked 577th on the Fortune 500.
In March 2025, GameStop announced a plan to use its cash reserves to buy Bitcoin. Over 400 GameStop stores closed in January 2025 due to a decline in sales, at pace to close twice as many as the company did in 2024. Consumer shift to the online marketplace has led to a decline in revenue.
This represents the highest number of stores that GameStop has closed in a single month. The US administration, under President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has yet to comment on the situation. Analysts note that the global shortage of the PS5, coupled with price gouging by third-party resellers, could strain consumer spending in the coming months.
Looking forward, the industry will watch for any enforcement actions by the FTC against price gouging, as well as any further moves by GameStop in the digital currency market. The company’s future financial health, as well as the availability of the PS5, remains a topic of concern for consumers and investors alike.
