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Charlotte Harborne asks her friends and colleagues Todd Nash, Charis Poynton and Matt Harper at Fanatical about what the company has learned as it hits a pair of big milestones: 30 years of business and 1500 bundles launched
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hat lessons have Fanatical learned from the physical retail era that still apply to digital retail today? Todd: Ever since Focus Multimedia launched back in 1995,
the company motto has always been “Quality, Choice and Value”, and I think that is as true today as it was thirty years ago. Customers are looking for great games to experience, they want to be able to discover new titles and learn more about them, and, of course, everyone loves a bargain! This phrase still informs the decisions that we make within digital
retail today. For example, Fanatical flipped the script when it came to bundling to allow customers to choose their own games within the bundle, effectively replicating the classic “choose any 2 games on this shelf for £20” retail messaging, but in a digital sphere.
Charis: We never stand still; innovation and evolution are key to maintaining and building success. Throughout my 25 years here at Fanatical (which was Focus Multimedia), we have never rested on our laurels and have never been afraid to make hard decisions. Being able to pivot when needed, has been core to our longevity.
What does hitting 1500 bundles mean to the business— and to the Fanatical team? Matt: As someone who has worked in biz dev here since the early days of Bundle Stars, getting to 1,500 bundles is a huge landmark! I see the
16 | MCV/DEVELOP December/January 2026
huge amount of effort and work that goes into building these bundles every day - not just from the biz dev side, but also from our operations, graphics and marketing teams! It’s a real team effort!
Todd: Hitting 1,500 bundles is a really important milestone for the business and shows how far we have come as a team. I can still remember sitting and watching the live performance of my first bundle at Fanatical 12 years ago (or Bundle Stars as we were called then!) and seeing all of the customers hitting our website and completed orders going through. It’s still as exciting today when we launch a big bundle to see that happen! It’s a milestone that gives pride to the team and makes us hungry to get to the next stage!
Charis: From my perspective, it’s a significant milestone on an incredibly long journey. Having been in the business since the inception of Fanatical (Bundlestars’ previous name), getting to 1500 bundles is one heck of an achievement. I remember very well sitting with the team, anxiously waiting to see how the first bundle we launched would sell and hoping the website wouldn’t crash under demand! To fast-forward to 2025, and having seen and known the hard work, the hours of conversations, the rejections, the elation, the new partnerships and relationships we now have, is an absolute privilege to have witnessed.
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