Power To The Players Act would give game buyers ownership rights
A proposed US bill would treat buying a digital game as ownership and require an offline mode before online servers shut down.
Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York has announced the Power To The Players Act, a proposed bill that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to create rules protecting consumers’ ability to own and play the video games they buy.1 It arrives as publishers and platform holders continue shifting from discs and cartridges towards digital licences that can depend on a company’s servers remaining online.2
The legislation would treat buying a video game as ownership rather than merely a licence to access it. Torres’ office says the proposal would protect a buyer’s right to own, play and transfer purchased games, including the ability to keep playing with friends and family.1
A further provision would require games with online functionality to offer an offline mode before the servers supporting them are shut down.1 That is a significant change from the current model, in which an online-dependent game can become inaccessible when its publisher closes the service, even if players paid for it.
The announcement uses NBA 2K25 as an example. Torres’ office says the game is due to be delisted from digital storefronts on October 30, with its online servers scheduled to close on December 31, just two years after launch.1 Those dates and the broader ownership argument are also reported by Destructoid, which places the proposal in the wider debate over a physical-disc-free future for consoles.2
A bill announcement is not the same as a law, and the proposal still needs to be introduced, considered by Congress and enacted before any protections take effect. Torres is also seeking re-election, a political context worth bearing in mind when assessing how far the proposal can travel.2 For players, though, the central question is straightforward: does paying for a game mean owning something durable, or renting access until a company decides otherwise?
Our opinion
The proposal addresses a real consumer problem, but its practical value will depend on the detail. An offline mode cannot magically preserve every live-service feature, and ownership rules would need to explain how updates, account access and multiplayer services are handled. Even so, forcing the industry to confront what “buying” means in a digital shop would be a useful step. Players should not have to treat a purchase as permanent only until a server shutdown says otherwise.
Photo by Kevin Malik on Pexels.3