New Video Game Law Proposed: 'If You Pay For It, You Own It'
"When you pay for a game, you should own it," says U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY), introducing a new bill to fight the practice of "a rental disguised as a sale". Kotaku reports: The fifth best-selling game of 2024 in the U.S. was NBA 2K25. Every year, fans dump hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars into the grindy NBA basketball sim. But just a little over two years after its…
U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has introduced a new bill aimed at changing the way video games are sold and owned. The bill, called the Power To The Players Act, seeks to protect the rights of players who purchase games, ensuring they have ownership rather than merely a license that can expire. Kotaku reports that NBA 2K25, the fifth best-selling game of 2024 in the U.S., will be delisted from digital storefronts on October 30 and will have its online servers shut down by January 1, 2027.
This means that millions who spent $70 on the game will lose access to its most popular modes. The Power To The Players Act would require companies selling digital games to grant players more than just a temporary license, and games with online features would need to provide offline modes that function even after servers are eventually shut down.
However, the bill does not cover other types of digital media such as movies and music, which have also faced similar issues with digital ownership.
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