Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York’s 15th congressional district introduced the Power To The Players Act this week, a legislative effort designed to redefine how consumers interact with digital entertainment. If enacted, the bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations ensuring that purchasing a video game grants the buyer full ownership rights rather than a limited license to play.
The legislation targets a growing industry standard where digital titles require constant connections to company servers. When developers or publishers decide to decommission these servers, the games often become completely unplayable, leaving consumers with products they cannot use despite having paid for them. Torres highlighted the upcoming shutdown of NBA 2K25 as a primary example of this issue, noting that 2K will delist the title and disable its servers by December 31st.
Ownership Versus Licensing
Torres argued that the current model effectively turns permanent purchases into temporary rentals. In a statement regarding the introduction of the bill, the representative emphasized that a game that can be removed from a user’s library at any time is not a true purchase.
“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,” Torres said.
The proposed law would mandate that developers provide an offline mode before shutting down supporting servers. This requirement aims to preserve the functionality of the software for the consumer even after the online infrastructure is removed. The approach mirrors similar state-level efforts, such as Pennsylvania’s Protect Our Games Act, which would require companies to offer offline modes or provide a minimum 25 percent refund when titles are sunset.
Industry Shift and Consumer Concerns
Debate over digital rights has intensified following Sony’s announcement that it plans to phase out physical game discs by 2028. The move has sparked broader concerns about the ability of players to resell, transfer, or preserve games in a fully digital ecosystem. Critics argue that without clear ownership laws, consumers are vulnerable to losing access to their media investments based on corporate decisions unrelated to product quality or user behavior.
The Power To The Players Act seeks to establish a federal baseline for these rights, ensuring that the FTC can enforce standards that protect the consumer’s investment. By shifting the legal framework from licensing to ownership, the bill aims to give players control over their digital libraries regardless of a company’s operational changes.
Source: The Verge
