Who do you think owns that video game you just purchased? If you thought it was you, then you’d be wrong. Instead, companies like Sony and Xbox give you the ability to purchase a digital license, which means you are more or less renting the game. At any moment, the license to this game can be revoked, or services can stop being provided for it. We have seen this happen already, and players have spoken out against it, saying that they should have the right to own the games that they purchase. It seems like a no-brainer, but companies don’t agree. However, things may be changing for the better, as Representative Ritchie Torres has announced the Power to the Players Act.
Rep. Torres Announces Power to the Players Act
There is nothing worse for gamers than not owning the media that they purchase. After all, a game typically costs $70 now, and it won’t be getting cheaper. Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) announced the Power to the Players Act – a piece of legislation aimed at ensuring gamers own the games they purchase.
Information about the bill can be found on Rep. Torres’s website. A post about the bill cites NBA 2K25 as being a strong example of how gamers don’t own their games. Many paid $70 for this title when it was released, but it will soon be delisted from digital storefronts, with the final date of its availability being October 30, 2026. The servers for the game will be shut down on December 31, 2026, which means that anyone still playing this game will not have access to it after this year.
Rep. Torres stated, “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. Families in the Bronx and across the country save up to buy these games, and they deserve better than a license that can vanish at any time. The Power To The Players Act ensures consumers own what they buy and can keep playing long after a company moves on.”
This bill would make it so buying a video game gives the consumer ownership of the game rather than a digital license. It would also require any game with online functionality to be required to have an offline mode before the servers shut down and support ends.
