WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19, 2026 — A new legislative push in the United States House of Representatives is targeting digital storefronts and publishers over how software locks players out of purchased video games. As the industry shifts from physical media to digital licenses, the debate over digital rights management highlights the vulnerabilities of modern consumer ownership.
The Mechanics of Digital Rights Management
Digital rights management, commonly known as DRM, uses access control technologies and encryption to govern the use and distribution of copyrighted works, according to Wikipedia. These technological protection measures restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted software. DRM technologies govern the use, modification, and distribution of copyrighted works such as software and multimedia content, alongside systems that enforce these policies within consumer devices. According to Wikipedia, DRM technologies include licensing agreements and encryption.
Copyright holders argue that DRM technologies are necessary to protect intellectual property, much like physical locks prevent personal property from theft, according to Wikipedia. Publishers maintain that these tools help them maintain artistic controls and support licensing modalities such as rentals. Industrial users have also expanded the use of DRM technologies to various hardware products, according to Wikipedia, including Keurig coffeemakers, Philips light bulbs, mobile device power chargers, and John Deere tractors. For instance, tractor companies use DRM to prevent farmers from making repairs.
Legal frameworks heavily reinforce these digital barriers. Laws in many countries criminalize the circumvention of DRM, communication about such circumvention, and the creation and distribution of tools used for such circumvention, according to Wikipedia. Such laws form part of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as the European Union Information Society Directive and France’s DADVSI implementation, according to Wikipedia. Apple removed DRM technology from iTunes around 2009, but the entertainment industry widely uses DRM across audio and video publishers, online stores like OverDrive, and cable and satellite service operators, according to Wikipedia.
From Ownership to Software Rentals
In practice, DRM is often used to enforce licensing agreements, effectively turning a purchase into a rental that can be revoked by the publisher, according to AOL. House Representative Ritchie Torres of New York announced he will soon introduce legislation dubbed the Power to The Players Act to preserve gamers’ right to own and play titles they purchased, according to AOL. In a press release, Torres stated that the bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish protections for players, ensuring that purchasing a video game gives consumers ownership instead of just a license to play it, according to AOL.
“When you pay for a game, you should own it,” Torres said in a statement reported by AOL. “Consumers must have the right to own, the right to play, and the right to transfer the games they buy.” Torres added that a game that can be taken away by a digital storefront or publisher at a moment’s notice is not a purchase, describing it instead as a rental disguised as a sale, according to AOL.
The debate over what constitutes ownership intensifies when companies pull resources from older titles. Torres specifically used 2K, the maker of the NBA 2K franchise, as an example, noting that NBA 2K25 is scheduled to be delisted from digital storefronts on October 30, with online servers shutting down at the end of the year, according to AOL. At launch two years ago, NBA 2K25 retailed at $69.99 for the standard edition and $99.99 for the All-Star Edition, according to AOL. Even after the game is delisted, current owners will still be able to play offline modes, but online modes such as MyCAREER and MyTEAM, where players spend time and money on in-game purchases, will vanish, according to AOL.
Server Shutdowns and Permanent Inaccessibility
Publishers can render games permanently inaccessible by discontinuing required online services or changing the DRM scheme, according to Wikipedia. Work such as digital media can become permanently inaccessible if the underlying DRM service is discontinued, and DRM technologies have faced criticism for restricting individuals from copying or using content legally through fair use or backup copies, according to Wikipedia. Typical DRM also prevents lending materials out through a library or accessing works in the public domain, according to Wikipedia.
NBA 2K25 is part of a broader trend of games going offline. In 2024, Ubisoft cut off online access to The Crew, its online-only racing game, according to IGN reports cited by AOL. While players can purchase the newer NBA 2K27 released last month, some consumers prefer to skip annual sports game iterations when there are no substantial improvements to gameplay or preferred modes, according to AOL.
To combat piracy, publishers frequently deploy strict DRM schemes like Denuvo. A 2025 study on the effectiveness of Denuvo DRM found evidence suggesting that if the DRM was cracked very early on within the first week, the effects of piracy resulted in an estimated revenue loss of 20 percent compared to unbypassed software, according to Wikipedia. The same study found that when Denuvo DRM survives for at least 12 weeks, the effects of piracy on revenue become negligible even if the DRM is cracked later on, using reviews as a proxy for copies sold, according to Wikipedia.
Legislative Push for Offline Functionality
As the industry heads toward an exclusively digital marketplace, consumer concerns over vanishing libraries continue to grow. In response to these access restrictions, some players have resorted to illegally jailbreaking consoles to clone games and port titles over after official support ends, according to AOL.
The proposed Power to The Players Act seeks to counter these access barriers by requiring publishers to provide an offline mode for players before servers supporting online play are taken down, according to AOL. The bill aims to redefine consumer interactions with digital goods by reclassifying video game purchases as actual ownership rather than a mere license to play, according to AOL. As lawmakers and industry stakeholders debate the future of digital commerce, the outcome of this legislation will shape whether digital storefronts can continue operating under current licensing models.
Sources
- 'When you pay for a game, you should own it': House rep takes aim at game publishers with bill fighting for uninterrupted digital access for players – AOL
- Digital rights management
- How Digital Asset Management Went From Digital Plumbing to System of Influence
Photo: Evan-Amos (Public domain)
