It's common for games to have glitches and exploits allowing players to earn an infinite amount of money, but one YouTuber revealed how that can extend to the real world by targeting the nation's biggest gaming retailer.
It would be great to earn money as easily in real life as you can in a game, whether that be through cheat codes – like the classic 'motherlode' input in The Sims – or through exploits, but one YouTuber believes that he's cracked the code.
GameStop has built up a rather notorious reputation for not giving fair value when it comes to trade ins, as many gamers have had to stomach a major loss when handing their used games back to the retailer.
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Gaming and collecting specialist RJCMedia, real name Ryan Cain, believes that he had found an 'infinite money glitch' in a dramatic turn of events, prompting the retailer to issue both an emergency patch and a statement on social media, as per Dexerto.
What is the GameStop infinite money glitch?
Revealing the improbable trick in a recent video on YouTube, Cain discovered that if you buy a used Nintendo Switch 2 console from GameStop, which retails at $415, you can technically trade it immediately back in and get $445 in return.
This effectively creates a loop where you're able to get $30 in profit every single time with no effort required, mirroring a glitch that you might very well see within a video game on the console itself.
You do need to purchase a pre-owned game to make the trick work, as that triggers a promotional bonus that subsequently raises the value of the Nintendo console beyond its sale price.
By the end of the video Cain revealed that he'd made over $150 by exploiting this trick, while also walking away with a bunch of new games that he essentially got for free.
How has GameStop responded?
Understandably it didn't take long for GameStop to respond to the video, promptly closing off the exploit and issuing a statement after the fact.
"GameStop is aware of the 'GameStop Infinite Money Glitch,' exposed by YouTuber RJCMedia. 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 retailer continues to explain that the 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."
Anyone now rushing to their nearest store will be met with disappointment though, as this statement coincides with a 'patch' for the 'glitch', as if the retailer was releasing an emergency hotfix for their very own game.
"Trade promotions have been updated to ensure customers can no longer convert basic arithmetic into an endless revenue stream, and balance has been restored," the statement reads.
"GameStop remains committed to offering promotions that reward our customers, and while we applaud the creativity, we gently remind everyone that our stores are not designed to function as infinite money printers."