GameStop’s Digital Ventures chief resigns

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GameStop Digital Ventures chief Chris Petrovic (pictured right) said he has resigned from the world’s biggest game retailer today.

Petrovic’s job was to invest in startups and help make acquisitions that could assist GameStop in making the transition from physical retailer to digital gaming company. Petrovic spent three-and-a-half years at GDV, and during the time he was there, the company acquired Kongregate, a digital distribution site for indie games, and also bought remote-gaming technology firm Spawn Labs.

Petrovic said he was resigning to pursue other interests.

“I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish since I joined — including growing digital revenues from below $100 million when I joined to over $600 million in 2012 through a combination of new product/business development, acquisitions, and strategic investments,” he said in a note to friends. “I look forward to bring that same level of growth and leadership to my next endeavor.”

He said he will continue to advise early stage companies and co-host the second annual Unlock Conference in San Diego in April. Petrovic frequently appeared on panels about game startups and often said that the pace of change in digital game distribution was measured, and GameStop was able to adapt to those changes with its own digital ventures efforts.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.