Redbox Announces Removal of Game Rentals Through Twitter Responses

Rental service Redbox has decided to announce in an incredibly discreet fashion that it won’t be offering game rentals starting at the beginning of 2020.

News of this began after reports started coming in from people across the United States that games are no longer available to rent at Redbox kiosks around the country. Several users on Reddit have said the option no longer existed at Redbox locations in states such as Missisippi, California, Arizona, Indiana, Florida, and Washington. I checked at a location in Georgia and found games were still available to rent, and one user on Reddit said that, as of this writing, rentals are still available in New Jersey. So the service seems to still allow rentals in some locations. In its place, other kiosks only allow people to buy the copies they have in stock.

The company’s official site has also taken down the option to rent games, with all its stock showing up in “Games to Own” instead.

Redbox hasn’t made an official announcement on the subject yet, but the Redbox Care account on Twitter did respond to an inquiring user confirming that Redbox is in the process of phasing out games from its service within the next year.

Hi Rod! Games will continue to be available for purchase at the Box until early next year, but we’re no longer making them available to rent.

— Redbox Care (@redboxcare) December 8, 2019

In another response, Redbox representatives said this decision was made after “considering various factors” and “changes in the industry.” Which probably means this is in response to the continued shift to digital downloads as opposed to using physical discs.

Hey there! After considering various factors like changes in the industry, we’ve decided to shift more focus into physical media with movies, streaming On Demand & new exclusive content moving forward!

— Redbox Care (@redboxcare) December 8, 2019

More on games you won’t be able to rent from Redbox next year:

• The Last of Us Part II, Watch Dogs Legion (And More!) Delayed
• Persona 5 Royal Finally Has A Western Release Date
• For Reasons, Square-Enix Will Be Charging for Final Fantasy VII Remake Pre-orders Three Months Early

Whatever’s going on right now, Redbox appears to still be advertising game rentals as a service it offers in promotional emails that have gone out as recently as today, like this one from Twitter user @Tman2096:

So I just recieved an email from them and they are LITERALLY advertising the rentals of games. What the hell? pic.twitter.com/30LCXF56Eh

— Tanner Pierce (@Tman2096) December 8, 2019

We’ve reached out to Redbox for clarification on the situation and will update the story once we hear back.