Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressman from New York, plans to bring a video game ownership bill to Congress. He announced the Power To The Players Act on 15 October.
The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write new rules. They would protect players’ ability to own and play the games they buy. Buying a game would give you ownership of it, not a licence to play it, Torres’s office said. Games with online features would also have to offer an offline mode before their servers shut down.
“A game that can be taken away the moment a company pulls the plug is not a purchase. It is a rental disguised as a sale.” Ritchie Torres, US representative for New York’s 15th district
Torres said consumers must have the right to own, play and transfer the games they buy.
The NBA 2K25 example
His office pointed to NBA 2K25. The game sold for $69.99, or $99.99 for the All-Star Edition. 2K Games will pull it from digital storefronts on 30 October. Its online servers will shut down on 31 December, two years after its release.
What Torres told Kotaku
“I think there should be a simple rule: if you pay for it, you own it.” Ritchie Torres, to Kotaku
In a phone interview with Kotaku, Torres said the bill would restore how people bought and played games in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He also called it an affordability issue.
The bill covers games only, not films or music. Torres said he hoped it would set a precedent for the rest of the digital economy. He did not confirm whether the bill will have cosponsors or Republican support, Kotaku reported. Torres still has to formally introduce it in Congress.
Pennsylvania and Sony
In Pennsylvania, state senator John Kane has introduced the Protect Our Games Act, The Verge reported. When a company retires a game, it would have to offer one of three things. These are an offline mode, an online mode that runs without its servers, or a refund of at least 25%.
Game ownership has drawn more attention since Sony said it plans to phase out physical game discs in 2028, according to The Verge. The Stop Killing Games campaign has called on companies to stop selling games that become unplayable when online support ends.
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