CeX's Website Confirms Plans for a Retro-Only Store in Birmingham
UK preowned retailer CeX has quietly confirmed plans to open a store dedicated entirely to retro games, with a listing for "Retro Birmingham" now appearing on its own website.
The listing, found under the Midlands section of CeX's "Find a CeX Store" page, shows the same address as the company's existing Birmingham shop on Bull Street — but with a Google Map pin placed slightly north of it, suggesting the retro store will occupy an adjacent building. The page itself is currently a shell: it lists the address and states "opening hours coming soon" VideoGamesChronicle.
CeX has not formally announced the store. The website listing, though, backs up an earlier report from retro YouTuber Retro Ghetto, who said the company was preparing to open retro-only shops under the internal codename "ReX" — short for Retro Exchange — or "CeX Retro" Retro Dodo.
According to that report, the Birmingham branch will be the first, located in an empty shop next door to the current CeX store. It will be smaller than a traditional CeX outlet. A second location has not been determined, and no other retro stores appear on the CeX website yet, suggesting the company is focused on getting Birmingham open first.
The concept goes beyond just selling old games. The retro stores are expected to stock titles from all regions — not just PAL, the format used in Europe, but also NTSC (North America) and NTSC-J (Japan). That would mark a return to CeX's earlier era, when the chain was known as one of the UK's leading importers of video games Time Extension.
CeX is also reportedly considering selling arcade machines at the retro stores, along with retro toys and collectibles. Initial stock will be transferred from existing CeX shops — potentially including stores outside the UK — and once open, inventory will come from customers buying and trading second-hand items, as it does at CeX's regular locations.
The dedicated retro stores will have their own analyst to appraise new items and keep prices aligned with the retro marketplace, where the value of older games can swing widely based on condition, rarity, and demand.
For anyone unfamiliar with CeX, the chain operates on a buy-and-sell model: customers trade in games, consoles, phones, and other electronics for cash or store credit. The "Retro Gaming" category already appears on CeX's UK homepage, but the Birmingham store would be the company's first physical location devoted exclusively to retro stock.
The timing is not yet pinned down. According to Retro Ghetto's source, the Birmingham store was expected to open by "either holiday this year or early 2027" VideoGamesChronicle.
For collectors and retro enthusiasts in the UK, the prospect of a high-street shop with imported titles and arcade machines — staffed by someone whose job is to know what old games are actually worth — is a notable shift. Most retro buying and selling in the UK happens online, through marketplaces like eBay and dedicated forums, or at occasional conventions. A permanent retail presence from a recognised chain would give that trade a physical home again.
