New York Bill Shifts Games From Licensing to Ownership

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced the Power To The Players Act, which would establish that game purchases convey ownership rather than a license and require online games to provide offline mode before servers shut down. Pennsylvania state senator John Kane introduced the Protect Our Games Act, requiring publishers to provide offline mode, community servers, or a 25% minimum refund.

The gaming industry increasingly treats game purchases as revocable licenses. Recent examples illustrate the consequences: The Crew became unplayable when Ubisoft shut down servers in 2024 without providing offline functionality, NBA 2K25 is being removed from digital stores only two years after release, and Overwatch 2 effectively replaced the original game. The Crew’s shutdown sparked the Stop Killing Games movement, demanding publishers provide offline modes, peer-to-peer alternatives, or community server capability. Sony has contended in litigation that clicking “purchase” should not lead consumers to expect durable ownership rights, only a revocable license. Torres’s legislation would require games to remain functional after publishers discontinue official support.