Torres Proposes Game Ownership and Offline-Access Rules

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres has announced the Power To The Players Act, a proposal that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to set rules for video game ownership, transfer rights and access after online servers shut down. The measure is not law, and reports differ on whether it had been formally introduced in Congress as of October 19, 2026. Under the proposal described by Torres’s office, buying a game would confer ownership rather than only a license to play it. The plan would also protect consumers’ ability to transfer or resell purchased games and require games with online features to offer an offline mode before their supporting servers are shut down. The proposal’s formal status remains unsettled in the available reporting. Torres’s office announced plans to introduce the bill, but its announcement reportedly did not include a bill number or full legislative text. One report described the measure as introduced, while others said it had not yet been formally introduced. The proposal’s precise requirements and enforcement mechanisms cannot be confirmed without the bill text and any subsequent FTC rules. Torres’s office cited NBA 2K25 as an example of the access...