GAMESTOP FLAGSHIP MILAN – The World’s First
When retail becomes a game
Some projects rewrite the rules. This one literally gamified them.
GameStop—the global gaming giant and pilgrimage site for millions of players worldwide—approached us with an unprecedented brief: design their first flagship store globally. Not just another retail location. Rather, the physical manifestation of everything GameStop represents to gaming culture.
The opportunity was extraordinary. The responsibility was immense. Moreover, the creative freedom was total.
We had one guiding vision from the start: this GameStop flagship in Milan couldn’t just sell games. Instead, it needed to be a game.
The location and the challenge
Three floors. Via Torino, Milano. 300 meters from Piazza Duomo—one of the world’s most prestigious retail addresses.
The brief was crystal clear yet profoundly challenging: flagship means experience over transaction. Minimal product display. Maximum consumer immersion. Create a destination that gaming enthusiasts would travel to experience, not just shop.
For gaming retail design, this represented a fundamental paradigm shift. Traditional game stores are product warehouses with posters. We needed to invert that completely.
How do you translate the feeling of entering a video game into physical retail space? Moreover, how do you create something worthy of GameStop’s global brand while respecting Milan’s luxury retail context?
Three floors, three levels, one game
Our concept: the entire store is a video game you walk through.
Level 1, Level 2, Level 3. Not floors—game levels. Each space represents progression through an immersive gaming experience, connected by a completely black staircase punctuated by LED portals that transport players upward through the game.
The staircase itself became crucial design territory. Rather than transitional dead space, we transformed it into the most dramatic moment—a dark tunnel lit by successive LED frames that pulse and glow as you ascend. You’re not just going upstairs. Instead, you’re advancing to the next level.
Each floor has distinct character while maintaining overall coherence. Ground level invites entry and orientation. Second level deepens immersion. Top level delivers payoff—the ultimate gaming experience destination.
A container of light and surprise
Gaming retail design demands spectacle. Games are visual, immersive, overwhelming in the best sense. Our architecture needed to match that energy.
We designed the GameStop flagship Milan as a light container. Luminous ceilings. Mirrored surfaces that multiply space and light. LED profiles running through every dimension—horizontal, vertical, diagonal. Light becomes architecture. Architecture becomes experience.
Ceiling design – Illuminated panels and mirror surfaces create infinite vertical perception. You look up and space explodes beyond its physical boundaries. Consequently, even compact areas feel expansive and cinematic.
LED integration – Not decoration. Rather, spatial definition. LED strips outline volumes, guide circulation, create rhythm. They pulse with gaming energy while providing functional illumination.
Surprise moments – Around every corner, through every portal, spaces reveal themselves unexpectedly. Gaming teaches us that discovery drives engagement. We applied that principle architecturally.
Material palette – Predominantly black creates the void into which light erupts. Metallic accents reference gaming hardware. Occasional color bursts echo game graphics. The palette is deliberately restrained to let light and experience dominate.
Experiential retail design for global brands
The GameStop flagship in Milan proves that retail can transcend commerce and become cultural experience.
Located 300 meters from Duomo in one of Milan’s premium retail corridors, this store doesn’t apologize for being theatrical. Rather, it embraces spectacle as strategy. Gaming culture is inherently spectacular—our design honors that while elevating it to luxury retail standards.
This wasn’t about selling more products per square meter. Instead, it was about creating brand pilgrimage sites. Destinations that justify travel. Spaces that generate social content. Environments where the store itself becomes the product.
Designing for the future of retail
If you’re a global brand seeking experiential retail design that transforms shopping into storytelling, VANDA brings expertise in creating spaces that customers experience rather than just visit.
We understand that the future of physical retail isn’t about efficiency—it’s about irreplaceability. Digital handles transactions perfectly. Therefore, physical spaces must deliver what screens cannot: immersion, scale, surprise, and shareability.
GameStop’s first flagship worldwide demonstrates what becomes possible when brands embrace retail as theater, architecture as narrative, and shopping as adventure.
GameStop Flagship, Milano
Client: GameStop
Interior Design & Concept: VANDA Designers
Location: Via Torino, Milano
Scope: 3 floors, world’s first GameStop flagship
Typology: Gaming retail design, experiential flagship, brand destination
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