And despite GameStop's tendency to protect its retail business at all costs, this will include digital releases on top of old-school discs. It's not clear which distribution platforms GameTrust will reach, but it will produce games for both consoles and PCs, including in VR when relevant.

The move isn't exactly a shocker. GameStop's sales continue to drop as the industry moves toward digital releases -- it knows that it can't rely on physical game sales forever, and it has been diversifying its offerings for years. Becoming a game publisher not only gives GameStop something unique to offer at retail, but helps its bottom line even if players are happy with downloading games at home.