Lawmaker says you should own the game you buy
Is Your Game a Purchase or a Rental? New Legislation Seeks to Restore Player Ownership
For many consumers, the relationship between paying for a game and actually being able to play it seems increasingly tenuous. The debate over digital ownership has long simmered, but recent shifts in the gaming industry—from the transition away from physical media to the risk of games being shut down prematurely—have brought this fundamental question into sharp focus. Now, a new piece of legislation aims to settle the score, demanding that players receive genuine control over the games they purchase.
U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York City, has announced the introduction of the Power To The Players Act. If this bill becomes law, it would empower the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations ensuring that consumers have the right to own, play, and transfer the games they buy.
“When you pay for a game, you should own it,” Torres stated. He argued that the current system often treats purchases less like ownership and more like a temporary rental. He stressed that a game that can be instantly withdrawn by a company is not a legitimate purchase.
This push for true ownership addresses a long-standing frustration in the digital gaming landscape. As PC gaming moved to digital distribution decades ago, the concept of ownership remained abstract. However, this issue has gained urgent public attention as console manufacturers, like Sony, are actively phasing out physical disc production, with plans to end it in 2028. The question naturally arises: what happens to the ownership rights of the games themselves?
The digital challenge extends beyond physical media. A related, pressing concern is the issue of online games being decommissioned before players have finished their adventures. Campaigns like Stop Killing Games have raised a powerful voice against this practice, arguing that players should always have access to basic offline functionality when online services are retired.
This concern is not theoretical. Groups like Stop Killing Games have highlighted examples, such as the situation with The Crew, where shutting down online features in 2024 prevented purchasers from even engaging with the single-player campaign. This demonstrates that removing access to offline modes can effectively revoke a consumer’s right to enjoy their purchase.
The goal of the Power To The Players Act is clear: to establish and enforce a more genuine sense of ownership over purchased games, moving away from restrictive, revocable licenses. Crucially, the legislation seeks to mandate that offline modes must be accessible even when online components are shut down, ensuring players are not left stranded.
For games already distributed without digital restrictions, such as those available from platforms like GOG, the concept of ownership is already simpler. Since players possess the game files, they retain control over backups and access, bypassing many of the complex digital licensing hurdles.
While the final details on how this act will be enforced remain forthcoming, the movement signals a significant shift in how the industry must approach digital commerce. It positions player rights squarely at the center of the conversation, ensuring that when consumers pay for a game, they truly own the experience, regardless of technological transitions.
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