tech
Torres Introduces Bill to Guarantee Video Game Ownership
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced a bill Thursday that would require video game sellers to give buyers ownership of a game rather than a revocable license, according to Ars Technica. The bill, called the Power to Players Act, directs the Federal Trade Commission to write rules preventing publishers from cutting off access to games consumers have paid for.
What does the Power to Players Act require?
The bill would guarantee buyers "the right to own, the right to play, and the right to transfer the games they buy," Torres said in a statement cited by Ars Technica. The FTC would be tasked with enforcement. The text has not advanced beyond introduction, and the outlet notes both technical and legislative hurdles remain.
Why did Torres name NBA 2K25 as the example?
Torres's announcement cites NBA 2K25 as the case the bill is meant to prevent. The game launched September 6, 2025, and is scheduled to become unplayable December 31, 2026, when its servers shut down, Ars Technica reported.
"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." — Rep. Ritchie Torres
Torres told Kotaku, as quoted by Ars Technica, "I think there should be a simple rule: if you pay for it, you own it." He called the proposed standard a "restoration to the historical norm" from how games were sold in the 1990s.
How many games are sold digitally now?
By the numbers
- 82%: share of full-game unit sales on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 that were digital downloads in Sony's most recent covered fiscal year, per Ars Technica.
- Dec. 31, 2026: date NBA 2K25's servers are set to shut down, roughly 15 months after its September 6, 2025 launch.
Most console and PC titles today are sold under end-user license agreements that grant a revocable license, not ownership of the underlying files, Ars Technica reported — true even when the game ships on a disc.
What happened to Sony's physical media plans?
Sony has said it plans to discontinue new PlayStation game releases on physical media, a move some players have protested, according to Ars Technica. The company's digital-sales figures suggest physical discs already account for less than a fifth of full-game unit sales. Ars Technica notes that discs alone would not solve the preservation problem anyway: many disc-based games still require online servers to function, and patches can make the shipped disc version meaningfully different from the game players ultimately experience.
What hurdles remain for the bill?
Ars Technica's reporting flags that the Power to Players Act faces obstacles on two fronts: the technical reality that many games depend on servers publishers control, and the legislative path required to move a consumer-protection bill through Congress and into FTC rulemaking. No hearing or vote date has been set, according to the available reporting.
Questions
What does the Power to Players Act do?
It would direct the FTC to require that video game purchases confer ownership rather than a revocable license, letting buyers keep playing games after a publisher shuts down servers, according to Ars Technica.
Why does the bill cite NBA 2K25?
NBA 2K25 launched September 6, 2025, but its servers are scheduled to shut down December 31, 2026, making the game unplayable — the kind of outcome Rep. Ritchie Torres says the bill targets.
Does buying a physical game disc guarantee ownership?
No. Ars Technica reports that most disc-based games are still sold under revocable license agreements and may require online servers to run, so physical media alone does not solve the ownership issue.