GameStop is said to be exploring payment plan options for the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles releasing later this year that would put the consoles in buyers’ hands without paying the full price right away. A few different methods of paying for the consoles ranging from rent-to-own plans to layaway are reportedly being considered. The new Xbox consoles are releasing on November 10th with the PlayStation 5 likely coming out around the same time, so it shouldn’t be too long before details about these plans and their availability are made public.

Internal documents from GameStop obtained by VentureBeat detailed the initial explorations into different payment options for the consoles coming later this year. One of the options that’ll be most familiar to holiday shoppers is a layaway program. By choosing this payment method, you’ll be able to reserve your console at GameStop and take home the console once you’ve paid it in full. This option is said to be starting this month.



Outside of that standard shopping option, GameStop is also said to be looking into third-party payment plans as well as rent-to-own offers. The plan involving installments would see buyers using third-party services like Quadpay or Klarna to pay for the consoles “in four installments over six weeks with no additional fees,” according to the internal documents referenced.

The rent-to-own plan offers a similar payment plan except that you can return the purchase at any point if you end up not wanting the new console for whatever reason. You can pay the consoles off for a longer duration under this plan with buyers able to “walk out the door with minimal up-front money” and can then pay off the consoles during intervals ranging from 30 days to 12 months.

News of the console payment plans comes after it was announced that GameStop would be closing down even more stores this year. That announcement followed news of more disappointing numbers from GameStop which makes the new console launches that much more significant for the retailer.

GameStop is also not the only company that’s been eyeing payment plans like these to get people playing the new consoles even if they can’t pay for the full price up front. Microsoft itself has a plan for that as well called Xbox All Access which gives people a way to get the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S and a subscription to Xbox Game Pass for a monthly fee.



Posted: Sep 12, 2020 5:19 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/gamestop-xbox-series-x-ps5-payment-plans/