Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has announced plans to introduce the Power to the Players Act, a bill that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules ensuring people who buy video games actually own them rather than hold revocable licenses. The bill has not yet been introduced in Congress, but its stated goals align with the Stop Killing Games campaign, which has lobbied against the practice of disabling purchased games after servers are shut down.
The announcement specifically cites NBA 2K25 as an example. The game launched in 2024 at $70, will be removed from digital storefronts on October 30, and its online servers are set to shut down in December, effectively leaving players with a different product than the one they paid for. The proposed bill would also force companies to offer an offline mode when a game's servers are taken down.
Torres described the measure as a "restoration to the historical norm" and suggested similar protections could later be extended to digital books, movies, and music. However, the bill faces significant hurdles: a similar California bill died in committee in June, and the FTC's regulatory authority has been weakened since the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in 2024, leaving agency rules more vulnerable to court challenges. Engadget has asked Torres for a draft of the bill and comment on potential legal obstacles, but has not yet received a response.