A YouTuber reportedly discovered a way to generate infinite money via a strange trade-in deal glitch at GameStop. After making a video about it, the company figured out what was going on and has now claimed to have “patched” the bug. Or maybe this is all some odd marketing stunt. Or somehow both things are true. It’s hard to say anymore.
On January 20, video game retailer, Bitcoin investor, and Funko Pop graveyard GameStop posted a lengthy comment to Twitter about a so-called “Infinite Money Glitch” that was recently discovered by YouTube content creator RJCmedia. How the glitch worked, apparently, was that if you bought a Nintendo Switch 2 for $415 and then immediately traded it back in along with the purchase of any pre-owned game, a promo would be triggered that increased the value of the trade-in to $472. Repeat this a few times, and you could rack up a few hundred bucks in trade-in credit.
Here’s why this glitch happened and how it worked, according to GameStop:
“In short, our 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,” said GameStop on social media.
GameStop’s response to the infinite money glitch
GameStop says that “effective immediately, the glitch has been patched.” It further added that “trade promotions have been updated to ensure customers can no longer convert basic arithmetic into an endless revenue stream, and balance has been restored.”
GameStop, a company that has become famous for memes, shitposting, spinning dumb mistakes into marketing material, and also for reportedly treating its employees poorly, ended its lengthy statement by reminding people that it remains “committed to offering promotions that reward” its customers. However, it “gently” reminded people that its stores are “not designed to function as infinite money printers.”
GAMESTOP ISSUES STATEMENT ON INFINITE MONEY GLITCH
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… pic.twitter.com/F2D2v41IeQ
— GameStop (@gamestop) January 20, 2026
So now the big question: Is this real? The video from RJCmedia seems real enough, with the creator visiting different stores and filming the process of trading in each console. There is also a bit where he is surprised to see a GameStop store closing soon and isn’t able to pull off the trade glitch there. Alluding to the news that many GameStop stores will be shutting down due to greed would likely be something the company wouldn’t want in a piece of viral marketing. There’s also nothing in the video disclosing it as a paid ad, and the creator isn’t massive, so it doesn’t seem like a person the company would partner with to do some weird guerrilla marketing. If it seems odd that I’m spending this much time dissecting whether or not this is real, it’s because GameStop is a very weird company these days, and you gotta be careful out there.
Anyway, I think this is all real, though the statement from GameStop is clearly trying to make this a fun situation, which reminds me of the stapler incident from last year. I hope others out there got to take advantage of this strange bug. Power to the players and all that, you know?