Rep. Ritchie Torres proposes bill to give video game buyers ownership instead of a license
The proposal would direct the FTC to act so games stay playable after companies shut down servers, Ars Technica reported. The full text is not yet public.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has proposed a bill meant to give people who buy video games ownership of those games rather than a license to play them, according to Ars Technica.
Ars Technica reported that the bill aims to ensure that "buying a video game would give the consumer ownership of the game rather than a license to play it," including assurances that buyers can keep accessing games for years after release. The bill directs the FTC to act to prevent games from becoming unplayable. Ars Technica calls it the Power to Players Act, while Torres's own statement calls it the Power To The Players Act.
The announcement names NBA 2K25 as an example of the problem. According to Ars Technica, the game launched on September 6, 2025, and is scheduled to become unplayable on December 31 because of server shutdowns.
In a statement published by Ars Technica, Torres said:
“When you pay for a game, you should own it. Consumers must have the right to own, the right to play, and the right to transfer the games they buy. 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.”Ritchie Torres, U.S. Representative (D-NY)
Ars Technica, citing Kotaku, reported that Torres also said: "I think there should be a simple rule: if you pay for it, you own it."
The proposal arrives as game ownership and preservation has become a hot-button issue, Ars Technica reported. Some consumers have protested Sony's announcement that it plans to stop releasing PlayStation games on physical media. Sony's latest earnings report showed digital downloads made up 82 percent of full-game unit sales across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 for the fiscal year covered.
Physical discs do not settle the matter on their own, according to Ars Technica. Many games sold on disc still need online servers to work, and license agreements generally say the buyer is getting a revocable license, not ownership.
Ars Technica reported that some earlier bills on this issue would have required developers to keep servers running indefinitely, which drew criticism over the cost. As described in Torres's press release, this bill does not appear to require servers to stay online. It would instead require games that normally work only online to offer offline modes. Ars Technica said that may not be feasible for some games as they are built now, and that the bill could still face resistance.
Several key details are still unknown. The full text of the bill is not yet public, so Ars Technica said its effectiveness and enforceability cannot yet be assessed. The bill also has a long way to go, and Ars Technica noted that most proposed legislation never reaches a vote.
