A new bill introduced by US Representative Ritchie Torres aims to strengthen video game ownership rights, requiring publishers to ensure that consumers can continue playing games they purchase even after official support ends.
The proposed legislation, called the Power to Players Act, would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to introduce measures preventing publishers from revoking access to purchased games when online services are discontinued. The proposal seeks to establish a distinction between buying a video game and obtaining a license that can eventually be revoked.
Torres, a Democrat representing New York, argued that consumers should retain the right to own, play, and transfer the games they purchase. In a statement announcing the bill, he said that players should be able to continue accessing their games long after publishers have moved on to other projects.
“When you pay for a game, you should own it,” Torres said. He added that the legislation would help ensure consumers retain access to their purchases rather than losing them when a company shuts down its services.
Speaking to Kotaku, Torres described the proposal as a return to a historical norm in which players could continue using games they had purchased. He argued that consumers should not lose access to a product simply because its publisher decides to discontinue support.
NBA 2K25 Highlights the Video Game Ownership Problem
The announcement cited NBA 2K25 as an example of the issues the Power to Players Act seeks to address. Released on September 6, 2025, the basketball game is scheduled to become unplayable on December 31, 2026, following the planned shutdown of its servers.
The example highlights a growing concern among players who purchase games that depend on online infrastructure. When those services are discontinued, some titles can become inaccessible even though consumers have already paid for them.
The proposed legislation aims to prevent similar situations by requiring games that normally depend on online servers to provide offline modes. This would allow players to continue using their purchases after publishers discontinue their online services.
However, the bill's full text has not yet been made publicly available, making it difficult to determine precisely how its requirements would work or how they would be enforced.
Video Game Preservation Becomes a Growing Concern
The Power to Players Act arrives amid wider discussions about digital ownership, physical media, and video game preservation. Campaigns such as Stop Killing Games have called for changes to industry practices that can leave purchased games unplayable when publishers withdraw support.
Physical game releases have also become part of the debate. Some consumers have expressed concern following Sony's announcement regarding plans to discontinue physical releases of certain PlayStation games.
According to Sony's most recent financial earnings report cited in the announcement, digital downloads accounted for 82% of full-game unit sales across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 during the covered fiscal year. The figure illustrates how heavily the market now relies on digital distribution.
Physical discs can help preserve access to games, particularly when digital versions are removed from online storefronts. However, physical media does not necessarily guarantee permanent ownership or continued functionality.
Many games require online servers to operate, even when purchased on a disc. In addition, end-user license agreements generally grant consumers a license to use the software rather than unrestricted ownership of the game itself.
Updates and patches can also complicate preservation efforts. In some cases, the version originally released on a disc differs substantially from the version players experience after subsequent updates. As a result, preserving the original physical release may not be enough to maintain access to the complete game as it was intended to be played.
These limitations have prompted renewed calls for legislation that would establish clearer requirements for publishers and protect consumers when games reach the end of their commercial lives.
Power to Players Act Could Face Technical Challenges
Although the Power to Players Act does not appear to require publishers to maintain online servers indefinitely, its proposed offline-play requirement could present technical challenges.
Some games are designed around persistent online connectivity, with essential gameplay systems operating on remote servers. Introducing an offline mode after development could therefore require significant changes to a game's architecture, depending on how its systems have been implemented.
Developers and publishers have previously criticised proposals that would require them to operate servers indefinitely, citing the ongoing costs and technical responsibilities involved. The Power to Players Act appears to take a different approach by focusing on continued playability rather than permanent server operation.
Nevertheless, requiring offline functionality in games designed exclusively around online services could still create substantial development challenges. The extent of those challenges would depend on the final wording of the legislation and how the FTC implements its requirements.
The proposal also faces legislative hurdles. Introducing a bill does not guarantee that it will become law, and many proposed measures never reach a vote. Until the complete text becomes available, questions remain about the legislation's scope, enforcement, and practical impact on developers and publishers.
AI Tools Could Complicate the Game Preservation Debate
The debate over video game ownership is also unfolding alongside advances in artificial intelligence and specialised coding tools. These technologies have increasingly enabled projects involving the decompilation, reconstruction, and modification of older and contemporary games.
Such projects raise additional questions about software preservation, copyright, and the legal boundaries of recreating games that are no longer officially supported. Their growing scale could make enforcement more difficult and introduce new considerations for lawmakers seeking to protect consumers while respecting intellectual property rights.
The Power to Players Act represents another attempt to address the long-term accessibility of purchased video games through legislation. Whether it can establish enforceable ownership protections without imposing impractical technical requirements on developers remains to be seen.
