By Martin Baccardax
GameStop shares jumped higher in early Monday trading, and are set to open at the highest levels in three weeks, as investors reacted to a series of messages and images indicating potentially solid demand for Microsoft's newest game release.
GameStop posted a humorous message on its verified X social media account last week calling for an end to the so-called "console wars," as reference to game players' preferences for various platforms and designers' and publishers' decision to prioritize one over the other.
A similarly playful image of President Donald Trump released by the White House, depicting him as a character in Microsoft's upcoming release of Halo: Campaign Evolved, was also taken as support for GameStop's broader marketing effort.
Halo: Campaign Evolved, a reworked version of the 2001 original Halo: Combat evolved, will be released on both Microsoft's Xbox gaming console as well as the Sony-owned PlayStation 5 for the first time.
"For nearly 25 years, Halo has offered players an epic sci-fi universe to explore, unforgettable characters to meet, and exhilarating gameplay to experience together," said gaming legend Brian "ske7ch" Jarrard in a PlayStation blog post last week.
"And now, for the first time, PS5 players will get to be part of that journey too," he added.
Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of game designer Activision Blizzard, which was completed in 2023, included an agreement to keep the Call of Duty gaming franchise available on the Sony PlayStation. That deal, hammered out as part of negotiations with competition authorities in the U.K., opened the door for the wider release of games across various platforms.
Despite the enthusiasm tied to the upcoming Halo release, and the group's impressive cash pile, GameStop shares sharply underperformed the broader market over the past six months, falling around 16% compared with a 36% advance for the S&P 500.
The stock is also down around 4% from its close on Oct. 7, when the group issued warrants on its common shares. Investors received one warrant for every 10 shares held, granting them the right to buy one GameStop share at $32 each. They will trade separately on the New York Stock Exchange and expire on Oct. 20, 2026.
The group has also missed out on a recent revival in certain so-called meme stocks, including last week's 235% surge in plant-based food group Beyond Meat.
GameStop is expected to report fiscal third quarter earnings in early December, following a solid update for the three months ending in August that included a 22% increase in sales and Wall Street-beating profits of 63 cents per share.
GameStop shares were last marked 4.6% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $24.34 each.
Write to Martin Baccardax at martin.baccardax@barrons.com
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October 27, 2025 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)
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