US Congressman's new plan: Gamers should own games instead of getting a license

The US Congress is trying to save purchased video games from the risk of permanent destruction after server shutdowns by requiring developers to provide an offline mode. The post US Congressman's new plan: gamers should own games instead of getting a license appeared first on Safir Arjan.

The US Congress is trying to save purchased video games from the risk of permanent destruction after server shutdowns by requiring developers to provide an offline mode.

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A new bill has been introduced by Richie Torres, Democrat of New York, in the US House of Representatives, which aims to create binding regulations to ensure that the purchase of a video game gives the consumer actual ownership of the game, not just a conditional and temporary license for the buyer to experience the game. This bill emphasizes that buyers should be able to maintain access to the game for years after its release.

In the official statement of this project, the NBA 2K25 game is mentioned as an example of this challenge. The title was released on September 6, 2025, but is scheduled to be completely unavailable on December 31 this year due to server shutdown. The bill, called the Power to the Players Act, mandates the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take measures to prevent such approaches from happening again in the future.

Richie Torres has announced in part of his statement about this bill:

"When you pay for a game, you have to own it. Buyers must have the right to own, play and transfer the titles they purchase. Buying a video game that is expropriated by the manufacturer as soon as the servers are down is not a real purchase; Rather, it is a rental offered under the cover of sale. Families across the country are saving up to buy these games, and they deserve a lot better than a fickle license that could disappear at any moment. "The Player Empowerment Act ensures that users own their purchased assets and can continue to enjoy the game long after companies have changed course."

Torres also mentioned in a conversation with the media that his approach is to return to a very simple rule: if you paid for something, you own it. He considered this prospect to be a return to the historical norm of games in the 1990s.

The introduction of this bill comes at a time when the issue of ownership and long-term preservation of games has become a big debate. Recently, Sony's decision to stop physical distribution of PlayStation games was met with protests. In its latest financial report, Sony revealed that digital downloads accounted for 82% of the total sales of full versions of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games, with physical discs accounting for less than 20%. Defenders of physical discs argue that insisting on the format is not only to satisfy the habit of a minority of users, but can also be a means of preserving games that may be removed from digital stores and become unavailable forever.

However, disc versions alone will not solve this crisis; Because many disc games require online servers to function, and EULAs emphasize that the buyer has only purchased a revocable license. Also, the versions on the discs are noticeably different from the version users experience due to the lack of post-release updates. At the same time, various campaigns and groups such as "Stop Killing Games" around the world have sought to change this practice.

Previous rules were criticized for forcing developers to keep servers up all the time; But this bill, instead of requiring the servers to stay on, obliges the publishers to consider an offline mode for the games that rely on the Internet so that they can remain operational even after the infrastructure is shut down. Considering the technical architecture of some online titles, this change will require a fundamental change in the development method.

The full text of this bill has not been published yet, and it has a long way to go until approval. On the other hand, the development of large language models and proprietary coding systems has launched a wave of decompilation or reverse engineering of codes and reconfiguration of software, which, despite legal challenges, will transform the landscape of preserving works and software in the coming years.

My professional career in the world of technology goes back almost 10 years; The path that started with hardware, continued with software, and now continues as a technology reporter in Sefir Arjan. I am Javad and more than three decades have passed and in addition to the world of technology, I love movies and cinema, classic rock music and Real Madrid.