Industry

Best Buy launches 'Best Buy Gamers' in beta with IGN, ahead of the Ocarina of Time remake and GTA 6

By PPRGaming · October 20, 2026

Official Best Buy Gamers beta promo image showing the logo next to a preview of the site with Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Modern Warfare 4 tiles
Image: Best Buy / IGN

Best Buy wants to be more than the place you pick up your pre-order. This morning the retailer launched Best Buy Gamers in beta, a new online destination at bestbuy.com/gamers built with IGN, CNBC reports. The launch lands right before two huge releases: the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on November 5 and Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19.

What’s on it. According to the joint press release, visitors can create a profile, vote in polls, watch trailers, enter sweepstakes, find Best Buy store events nearby and pre-order upcoming games. All of that sits next to IGN reviews with scores, features and news about video games, trading cards and gaming movies. IGN says the reviews and scores shown there are its own editorial work, “produced independently by IGN’s editorial team and presented as published on IGN.com.”

The rest of the deal:

  • Out This Month: a new series about the gaming products arriving at Best Buy, running on IGN.com, IGN’s YouTube and its social channels.
  • In-store coverage: IGN’s social team will be at Best Buy events this holiday season.
  • Ocarina of Time late-night launch, November 5: nearly all Best Buy stores will open late for the remake.
  • Holiday gift guides and shoppable livestreams hosted by IGN.
  • An in-store gaming experience opens next month. CNBC says the first one is in Torrance, California, with Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft activations.

Why now. Best Buy chief revenue officer Patrick McGinnis told CNBC the timing is “pretty perfect” with the coming release slate, though the platform has been in the works for over a year. Best Buy has called gaming one of its strongest categories, and it has said it expects GTA VI to boost gaming sales.

PPR take: It’s basically a store page with a news feed attached, so how useful it is will come down to the deals and the event listings. The thing to watch is how Best Buy keeps IGN’s reviews clearly separate from its sales pitch. For now, the Ocarina of Time late-night openings are the easiest win for fans who still like a midnight launch.

Sources