You may have forgotten about GameFly, but someone else hasn’t. The video game rental subscription service has a new owner: Alliance Entertainment. The physical media distributor, one of the largest in the US, has purchased GameFly for an undisclosed amount and plans to operate it as an independent subsidiary.
Thanks to the acquisition, Alliance says GameFly customers will have access to a more extensive catalog of games to buy and rent. The two will also sell a wider variety of gaming-related products, including controllers, headsets and consoles. “Over the coming months, we’re going to be making some big announcements about fresh changes to our subscriptions that we think will make console gamers very happy,” said Tim Hinsley, the president of GameFly.
GameFly’s sale comes at a time when fewer and fewer people are renting video games. It was only last year that Redbox exited the market. GameFly itself has seen its fortunes wax and wane in recent years. In 2018, the company shut down its game streaming service after EA bought the technology that powered it.
