THE CRUNCH
A new bill in Congress wants to turn the phrase "buy a game" back into something literal. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York introduced the Power To The Players Act this week. If passed, it would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write regulations guaranteeing that paying for a game makes you its owner, not merely the holder of a licensing agreement.
The bill also tackles the practical problem behind the push: many modern games need a connection to company servers, so when those servers are switched off, the games often stop working. Under the proposed law, developers would have to provide an offline mode before shutting down supporting servers. "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 in a statement announcing the bill.
The timing is pointed. Torres singled out NBA 2K25, which publisher 2K is delisting from storefronts at the end of the month and taking offline on December 31st, limiting its playability. Ownership concerns have also drawn attention since Sony announced it planned to phase out physical game discs in 2028.
The proposal echoes state-level efforts. In Pennsylvania, State Sen. John Kane has introduced the Protect Our Games Act, which would require companies sunsetting a title to offer an offline mode, an online mode independent of their own servers, or a minimum 25 percent refund.
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