Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres is introducing legislation that aims to ensure you own your digital games, rather than merely buying a license that gives you permission to play them.

The bill, known as The Power to the Players Act, would direct the Fedral Trade Commission (FTC) to establish regulations that would protect gamers and their digital libraries. In short, Torres wants to ensure that when you buy a digital game, you actually own it, as opposed to getting a license that can be revoked. Additionally, the bill would require online games to have offline functionality, so that when servers are shut down, the content can still be played by those who own the game.

“Consumers must have the right to own, the right to play, and the right to transfer the games they buy,” Torres said in a press release. “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.”

Torres made an example out of NBA 2K25, a game that recently announced that it would be rendering single-player modes inaccessible due to servers shutting down. The news gained widespread attention, as many were confused why a game that's only two years old was becoming obsolete so soon.

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