GameStop Says It’s Shut Down a Nintendo Switch 2 Trade-in Exploit That Worked as an ‘Infinite Money Glitch’

GameStop has said it has shut down a loophole that let its customers rack up store credit by continually trading in then rebuying a Nintendo Switch 2 console.

In a statement posted to social media, GameStop said it had been made aware of a YouTube video boasting of a “GameStop Infinite Money Glitch,” and verified that the method had indeed been possible.

“By purchasing a Nintendo Switch 2 for $414.99 and then immediately trading it back in along with the purchase of a pre-owned game, a promotional bonus was triggered that increased the Switch 2 trade credit to $472.50,” the company wrote. As demonstrated by YouTuber RJCmedia, this method could then be repeated over and over, potentially earning more than $50 profit in store credit each time.

“In short, our system briefly valued the pre-owned trade more than the new retail cost of the console itself, creating a narrow window where customers could repeat this transaction over and over again to amass infinite trade credit,” GameStop continued.

“Effective immediately, the glitch has been patched. Trade promotions have been updated to ensure customers can no longer convert basic arithmetic into an endless revenue stream, and balance has been restored.”

While a novel scenario for the company to publicly discuss, it’s worth putting the whole matter into context. Firstly, there’s no suggestion this method was being widely used — outside of the original video by RJCmedia, there’s little evidence the “exploit” was put into practice.

In a statement shared with IGN, GameStop said it had been made aware of the video quickly, which also seems fortunate considering the relatively small size of RJCmedia’s YouTube channel.

“Yes, the ‘GameStop Infinite Money Glitch’ was real (briefly),” a spokesperson for the company confirmed via email. “A promo loophole allowed a Nintendo Switch 2 trade-in to exceed its retail price, which is ironic, given the internet usually tells us our trades suck.

“I can reveal an anonymous person clued us in by sending an email to a completely irrelevant inbox exposing the loophole,” the GameStop spokesperson continued. “So if anything this proves we are actually checking our IR inbox.”

This isn’t the first time GameStop has attempted to turn what seems to be an unfortunate incident into a cheery social media moment (remember the infamous viral Switch 2 stapler snafu, which the company then turned into a joke and hosted an auction for). This fresh incident also leans into the ongoing meme that GameStop offers poor trade-in value for money (something the chain built its recent high-profile ‘Trade Anything Day’ promotion around, which it also widely publicized as a bit of fun, even as some employees reported otherwise).

Finally, and most importantly, this latest matter comes just days after it emerged that GameStop was reportedly planning to shut down around 400 stores, with the loss of numerous jobs. But hey, maybe some of those employees used the “glitch” to earn some money while they still could.

Image credit: RJCmedia.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social