Rep. Ritchie Torres Introduces Power To The Players Act to Combat Game Licensing
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New legislation seeks to mandate consumer ownership of video games and require offline modes to prevent titles from becoming unplayable after server shutdowns.
U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has introduced the Power To The Players Act, a bill designed to ensure that purchasing a video game grants the consumer actual ownership rather than a revocable license to play. According to reporting from The Verge and Ars Technica, the legislation would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish regulations guaranteeing that consumers can own, play, and transfer the games they purchase.
Rep. Torres cited NBA 2K25 as a primary example of the issue; the title launched September 6, 2025, but is scheduled to be delisted from storefronts this month and will become unplayable when servers shut down on December 31. In a statement, Torres described games that can be disabled by a company as "a rental disguised as a sale."
To prevent future losses of access, the bill would require developers to implement an offline mode before shutting down supporting servers. This effort aligns with broader concerns over game preservation, particularly following Sony's announcement that it plans to phase out physical game discs by 2028. Sony's own financial data indicates that digital downloads now represent 82 percent of full-game unit sales for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Similar legislative efforts are appearing elsewhere, such as the Protect Our Games Act introduced by Pennsylvania State Sen. John Kane. That bill would require companies to provide an offline mode, a server-independent online mode, or a minimum 25 percent refund when games are sunset. Ars Technica notes that while the Power To The Players Act avoids requiring servers to stay online indefinitely, it may face technical resistance due to how some online games are engineered.