The Australian branch of embattled U.K based retailer GAME has entered administration the company confirmed this afternoon. In the short term this means that the company will not be stocking somenew titles such as Blizzard’s upcoming Diablo III. Along with this announcement they also announced that they will be unable to refund customer’s fully paid or partially paid pre-orders.

Entering administration doesn’t mean an immediate end to GAME’s operations downunder. It would be fair to compare the process to bankruptcy protection in the United States. Essentially administration gives GAME a window of time work out agreements with their various creditors.

Interestingly Austrailian law allows the company to withhold refunds for upcoming products like Diablo III. No official announcement regarding the future of GAME’s retailers has been made at the time of writing but they did provide a small statement to kotaku.

“Due to the appointment of an administrator to our business this morning, it is with regret that I inform you all that our stores will not be receiving any stock of diablo 3 (sic). Because of this, we regrettably will be unable to fulfill any pre-orders. Also, we will be unable to refund any deposits paid towards a pre-order of diablo 3. If you need any more info, please email customerrelations@game.com.au”