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Power To The Players Act: Ritchie Torres wants buying a video game to mean owning it
Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York announced on Oct. 15, 2026, a plan to introduce the Power To The Players Act, a bill that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write rules protecting your ability to own and play the games you buy. Under the bill, buying a game would mean owning it rather than holding a license, and games with online features would need an offline mode before their servers shut down. Torres's office points to NBA 2K25, which it says leaves digital stores on Oct. 30, two months before 2K turns off its online services on Dec. 31.
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A New York lawmaker wants “buy” to mean “own” for video games. Rep. Ritchie Torres announced on Oct. 15, 2026, a plan to introduce the Power To The Players Act, a bill aimed at games that disappear from stores and stop working when a publisher shuts down their servers.
The bill doesn’t have a number or published text yet, so nothing changes for players today. Here’s what Torres has proposed and the NBA 2K25 shutdown Torres’s office uses to make the case.
What the Power To The Players Act would do. The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write regulations protecting your ability to own and play the games you buy. It has two main parts.
First, buying a video game would give you ownership of it rather than a license to play it. Torres’s office says many digital games are sold today as revocable licenses, which leaves players dependent on a company’s continued support, and the bill would preserve your ability to own and resell what you buy.
Second, games with online features would have to provide an offline mode before the servers that support them are shut down. “When you pay for a game, you should own it,” Torres said in the announcement.
Why NBA 2K25 is the example. Torres’s office says NBA 2K25 will be delisted from digital storefronts on Oct. 30, 2026, about two years after it launched. It sold for $69.99 for the standard edition and $99.99 for the All-Star Edition, and as of Oct. 16, Steam still lists it at $69.99.
2K’s Online Services Status page, last updated on Sept. 14, 2026, gives the rest of the timeline. NBA 2K25 came out on Sept. 6, 2024, and its online features and services are scheduled to stay up until Dec. 31, 2026. After that, 2K lists Play Now, MyNBA, MyLeague, MyGM, 2KU and Learn 2K, MyWNBA and The W as the modes that keep working offline. MyCAREER and MyTEAM aren’t on that list.
This is a regular schedule for 2K’s basketball games. NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K23 lost their online services on Dec. 31, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024. NBA 2K26 is scheduled until Dec. 31, 2027, and this year’s game, covered on our NBA 2K27 release date page, until Dec. 31, 2028. 2K says on the same page that running online services for older games becomes commercially unfeasible once players move to newer ones, and that its dates can be extended or brought forward.
Torres has announced the bill but hasn’t introduced it yet, and Torres’s office hasn’t said when that will happen. Once it’s introduced, it gets a number and goes to a House committee. To become law, it would have to pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the president, and only then would the FTC start writing the actual rules.
Until then, NBA 2K25’s dates stand as 2K and Torres’s office have set them out: off digital stores on Oct. 30 and offline for good on Dec. 31. If you own it, the offline modes listed above keep working after that. For games you can claim and keep at no cost, see our list of free games this week.
This page is updated as soon as the Power To The Players Act gets a bill number, text or a committee date, or 2K changes its NBA 2K25 dates.
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FAQ
What is the Power To The Players Act?
It’s a bill Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York announced on Oct. 15, 2026. It would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write rules so that buying a video game gives you ownership of it instead of a revocable license, and so that games with online features get an offline mode before their servers are shut down.
Has the Power To The Players Act passed?
No. Torres announced on Oct. 15, 2026, a plan to introduce it. Torres’s office hasn’t published a bill number or bill text yet, and no vote is scheduled. A bill has to pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the president to become law.
Would the bill let you resell digital games?
Torres’s office says the bill would preserve your ability to own and resell games, and Torres says players should have the right to own, play and transfer the games they buy. How that would work for digital purchases depends on the bill text and the FTC’s rules, which aren’t out yet.
When is NBA 2K25 delisted?
Torres’s office says NBA 2K25 will be delisted from digital storefronts on Oct. 30, 2026. As of Oct. 16, it’s still on Steam at $69.99.
When do the NBA 2K25 servers shut down?
2K’s Online Services Status page says NBA 2K25’s online features and services are scheduled to be available until Dec. 31, 2026. 2K notes that these dates can be extended or brought forward.
Can you still play NBA 2K25 offline after Dec. 31?
Partly. 2K lists Play Now, MyNBA, MyLeague, MyGM, 2KU and Learn 2K, MyWNBA and The W as the modes that still work offline. MyCAREER and MyTEAM aren’t on that list.
When do NBA 2K26 and NBA 2K27 servers shut down?
2K schedules NBA 2K26’s online services until Dec. 31, 2027, and NBA 2K27’s until Dec. 31, 2028.
Pop quiz
2 questions from this story.
Which agency would write the rules under the Power To The Players Act?
The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to write rules protecting players' ability to own and play the games they buy.
Until when does 2K plan to keep NBA 2K25 online?
2K schedules NBA 2K25’s online services until Dec. 31, 2026. Oct. 30 is the date Torres’s office gives for the delisting.
Your call
Should buying a digital game mean you own it?
