GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen is reportedly weighing whether to abandon his hostile bid for eBay in favour of proposing a partnership or joint venture instead, according to Bloomberg. The shift would mark a significant change in strategy after months of GameStop publicly pursuing outright ownership of the online marketplace, and matters because it suggests Cohen may be struggling to gain traction with a straightforward takeover approach that eBay has repeatedly rebuffed.

Cohen launched his campaign in May 2026 with an unsolicited $55.5 billion offer at $125 per share, aiming to turn eBay into a genuine rival to Amazon; eBay rejected the bid within a week, calling it "neither credible nor attractive". Since then GameStop has raised its stake in eBay from roughly 5% to almost 10% and reportedly bumped its offer to around $56 billion, with Cohen insisting publicly that the company is "coming for eBay one way or another". Under the alternative partnership model now said to be under consideration, GameStop would give eBay access to its roughly 1,600 US stores and seek a seat on eBay's board, though GameStop is still said to be weighing multiple possible paths forward.