For those of you living in New Zealand, it’s come to the end of January 31st, 2026. This day is sad for all Kiwi gamers because it means it’s the end of the EB Games retailer in the small country of 5 million people.
At the start of January 2026, EB Games made the difficult decision to pull out of the New Zealand market due to losing millions of dollars over the past year. This is due to a combination of gamers not buying physical games anymore and competitive pricing from other retailers who would sell their games for much cheaper.
Over the years, EB Games would try to diversify its business by selling toys and other collectibles, but it looks like this strategy did not work out in the end. In related news, EB Games in Australia is still operating, although some stores in that country may still close in the near future.
EB Games New Zealand posted the following on Instagram
“We want to thank you, our customers. For over two decades you’ve helped shape our community and celebrate the excitement, nostalgia and shared love of all things Pop Culture and Gaming. All New Zealand stores are now closed. We are working towards opening access to ebgames.com.au for New Zealand customers. This transition will take some time, but we expect access to be available by the end of March 2026. We will also be introducing new Customer Service contact options for New Zealand customers next week. Our Customer Service channels will reopen on Wednesday, 4 February 2026. If you have a question or refund request before then, please hold onto it until our updated support channels are live.“
Any Kiwi gamers who want to buy new physical games, The Warehouse, Mighty Ape and JB Hi-Fi are the best alternatives now.
