US Lawmaker Proposes Plan to Protect Digital Game Ownership

U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres is preparing to introduce the Power To The Players Act, a bill meant to strengthen consumer protections by giving players true ownership of the digital games they buy. If it becomes law, the Federal Trade Commission would be able to write rules that stop companies from pulling games from sale, retiring servers prematurely, and revoking digital licenses at will.

Ritchie Torres Wants Players to Truly Own Their Digital Games

A number of companies are working to keep discs relevant, yet physical games are increasingly under threat. Several publishers have stopped releasing boxed editions, Sony has ended disc production, and the fate of Project Helix’s disc drive remains unclear. The industry appears to be moving toward an entirely digital future, and many players are far from pleased.

Whatever becomes of physical media, digital sales already dominate the market. That is the reason Rep. Torres wants to secure players’ ownership rights over their digital libraries through the Power To The Players bill.

For now, companies hold total authority over the licenses players purchase. Storefronts can delist a game and cut off a vast audience in an instant. Developers can switch off servers when a title underperforms, taking away the online features that were promised at launch. In Torres’s words, families spend hard-earned money on games, only to have the software they paid for “pulled out from under them on a company’s arbitrary timeline.”

Should the bill pass, the Federal Trade Commission would be required to establish rules that give consumers ownership of their games and safeguard their ability to keep playing them. Online titles would also need to include an offline mode, so fans can still enjoy them once the servers go dark. The aim is to let players enjoy their games for years to come and to “close the gap between buying a game and owning it.”

The bill still has plenty of regulatory obstacles ahead, and there’s no guarantee it will advance. Even so, it suggests that the U.S. government is finally paying attention to the problems surrounding digital game ownership.