US Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, announced the "Power to the Players Act," a bill that aims to enforce the rule that whoever pays for a digital game owns it. According to Kotaku and Engadget, the proposal has not yet been formally introduced in Congress, and the topic matters to anyone buying games like GTA 6, which will also be sold digitally.

What the bill proposes

According to Kotaku and Engadget, the text would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US consumer protection agency, to write rules so that digital game sellers offer more than a license that can expire at any time. Games with online features would also need an offline mode that keeps working after servers are shut down.

Torres summed up the principle to Kotaku: "if you pay for it, you own it." He also said that a game that can be taken away when a company pulls the plug is not a purchase, and described the bill as a "restoration to the historical norm" of buying and playing.

What prompted the announcement

The trigger, according to both reports, is the case of NBA 2K25. 2K Games will delist the game from digital storefronts on October 30, and Kotaku reports that the online servers go offline on January 1, 2027, which would leave the most popular modes unplayable. Engadget notes that the game launched in 2024 for $70 and speaks of servers shutting down in December; the two reports differ on that detail, and Portal GTA 6 did not confirm the exact date with a 2K source.

Kotaku also cites the Stop Killing Games movement, the end of PlayStation disc production and GTA 6 arriving as a download code as examples in the digital ownership debate. That last claim is the outlet's own and has not been independently verified by the portal.

Why the bill may not go anywhere

Engadget points to significant obstacles. A similar bill in California failed a committee vote in June, and the FTC's power to write rules became weaker after a 2024 US Supreme Court decision that overturned Chevron deference. A judge has also already blocked the FTC's rule on noncompete clauses, on the argument that the agency lacked authority, and something similar could happen to game ownership rules.

Kotaku adds that Torres did not say whether the bill has cosponsors or Republican support, and that large publishers are expected to lobby against it. PC Gamer, in its coverage, describes the congressman's argument that game purchases are rentals disguised as sales.

What changes for players

For now, nothing. The bill is an announced intention, it would apply only in the United States if it ever became law, and it does not change any game license terms today. For everyone else, the debate is background: digital store terms remain in force, and reading the license agreement is still the only guarantee of what you can do with the game you bought.

Portal GTA 6 is following the progress: if the text is introduced in Congress, this article will be updated.