Been reading on it. The shorts are betting against the calls and vise Versus. It’s going that be interesting to say the least
The shorts have been betting on a price drop for months. Just like options contracts short positions have to be payed back on X date. Unlike options contracts when shorts cover they have to pay current market price. That's about $40.
They can also buy options to cover but it is still the same price. There's no time decay or extrinsic value left. The only value is intrinsic. That means that if the Strike was $30 the call contract is worth $10. So the seller pays $40 total. Same as the underlying asset price. There's no way the shorts that are expiring tomorrow can use options to cover their positions at a cheaper cost.
So you get the short squeeze. Bears scurrying to cover their short position. In this case that position is greater then the outstanding number of shares. It's gonna be wild. Implied volatility is over 600% for GME tomorrow. The swings will be epic.