GameStop trolled Valve founder Gabe Newell in its latest press release, saying that the company is ready to help him count to three. According to its post on X, the company said its “Buy 2, Get 1 FREE on ALL pre-owned games is back, while supplies last” is documented and verifiable evidence that it can count to three, so it should also be able to help Newell in achieving this.
Many gamers joke that Gabe Newell “cannot count to three” because many of Valve’s highly successful franchises seemingly end at the second installment. Several examples include Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike, and Dota, all of which still lack a third installment despite being popular titles. GameStop’s playful press release leans into this trope while simultaneously promoting its buy 2, take 1 promotion on used games.
“This promotion clearly demonstrates our proficiency in counting up to three. Two items purchased, one free item added: three items total,” says the company. “Clearly, we can count to three. Surely you can too. The deal is available in stores and online until January 1st.”
The video game retailer itself has been part of the internet meme lore in recent years, especially during the infamous GameStop short squeeze, which saw some Wall Street trading firms brought to their knees by a few brave Redditors. The retailer has indeed been struggling since 2020, and its stock price fell to less than $5 by late that year.
However, a few retail investors noticed that hedge funds and institutional investors have shorted 140% of the public float — meaning more shares have been borrowed and sold than are publicly available. They then shared this information on r/WallStreetBets and rallied behind GameStop, causing its stock price to skyrocket by more than 2,500% to over $500 per share pre-market at one time. This made several investors a lot of money but also caused huge losses for others. The company’s stock price has since normalized, but it’s still a great example of the “stonks” meme come to life.
GameStop’s offer to help Newell count to three is a joke and marketing stunt rolled into one, with the Valve co-founder himself getting in on the joke on YouTube as far back as 2021. And while we don’t think anything with the number three will come out of Valve anytime soon, GameStop’s buy-two-get-one promo on used games could still help gamers get a good deal during this holiday season.
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