6 Biggest Gaming Industry Controversies Of The 2020s (So Far)

If you need a quick recap, please check out our explainer above.

So, hedge funds tried to “short” Gamestop's stock, already struggling due to rises in digital sales. “Shorting” is profiting from a company's value going down in the stock market. You do this by borrowing shares in a company’s stock, then immediately selling them for the same price.

As the company’s stock is plummeting you pay back the share you owe while it's worth less than when you borrowed it. So when you pay back the share at a cheaper price than when you borrowed, you would end up making a small profit.

With me so far? Great.

Hedge funds tried this with Gamestop. Except a large community of traders and gamers caught wind of what was going on. They banded together and bought basically all available stock, forcing the price of Gamestop shares to go up by a whopping 359%. Shares then had to be paid back at an insurmountable loss, up to $6,000,000,000.

Considered a win by the little guys, the gaming industry proved to be a conduit for some vigilante justice. You heard it here folks, video games broke the stock market.