Thumbs up for gamers

GAME introduces Thumb Insurance for avid gamers

1st April: To cater for the growing industry of professional gamers susceptible to career limiting injury, GAME is today announcing the introduction of a revolutionary new Thumb Insurance. To gamers, their thumbs are their most prized possessions. Injuring a thumb can leave them missing out on valuable gaming time.

The new product is part of the retailer’s commitment to its community of gamers. And with eSports, at both a professional and grassroots level, becoming the fastest growing sport, protecting digits has never been more important. With revenues expected to grow 43% globally from £225 million in 2015 to £323 in 2016*. With numbers like this, injury can result in severe financial loss and so income protection in this industry has become a necessity.

Available for purchase today, GAME Thumb Insurance provides protection against accidental damage, malicious damage and travel cover, starting from just £3 a month.

In addition to the insurance, GAME is trialling Thumbshields for avid and casual gamers alike, providing protection for everyone. These are available for £9.99 in selected stores, but free when bought with Thumb Insurance.

Fred Prego, Marketing & Insight Director at GAME says:
“Our thumbs go through a lot every day - cooking, exercising, writing, and plenty more. As a company of gamers, we worry enough about our own thumbs, so if it was our source of income - like it is for many of our customers - then it would be even more important.

“eSports is an integral part of our business and we often have competitions in our stores and even here at GAME HQ. Like all sports, it comes with the risk of injury. We have found that a good warm up can reduce the number of sore thumbs but for avid gamers, they might need to take further precaution!”

The first customer for GAME’s Thumb Insurance is professional FIFA player, Ty Walton, of Redditch. When trying his Thumbshields for the first time in GAME’s Westfield Stratford store, he said:

“As my career in the professional gaming world continues to rise, my dependence on my thumbs is increasing. In the past, I’ve seen musicians insure their hands, footballers insure their legs – why not thumbs?! It’s great to see that we’re now getting the same protection. I can game with peace of mind.”