The snailmail-diven video game rental house GameFly has been acquired by Alliance Entertainment group, meaning it now shares an ownership group with wholesale entertainment distributor Alliance Entertainment (a company that itself counts Funko, FantasyFlight, and Wizards of the Coast among its partners.)
Terms of the deal were not mentioned, but already GameFly’s new owners have used their partnerships to add movies, game accessories, consoles, and collectables through GameFly’s digital channels. The partnership also seeks to bolster the subscription rental service for which GameFly is primarily known by expanding the catalog of games up for rental.
Despite the early changes, a press release notes that GameFly will continue to operate independently.
“Alliance is the largest distributor of physical media in the US, and we’re using our expertise with GameFly’s nearly 20 years of experience in subscription game rentals to imagine new offerings that previously were not doable,” reads a statement from Alliance Entertainment co-owner and CEO Jeff Walker, who curiously is also now listed as CEO and co-owner of GameFly.
GameFly’s longtime and now seemingly former CEO and president, David Hodess, is not mentioned in the press release though Alliance SVP of retail sales Tim Hinsley is now named as its president while Chris Anderson, a decade-long GameFly exec is listed still as its VP of product.