NBA 2K25 ranked as the fifth best-selling game in the United States during 2024, helping illustrate the enormous audience for annual sports releases. Yet 2K Games has confirmed that the game will be removed from digital storefronts on October 30, with its online servers scheduled to close on January 1, 2027.
Once the servers are gone, the title’s most popular modes will no longer function. That means a game millions of players bought for $70 could become largely unusable only a little more than two years after launch. The decision has added urgency to a proposed US law from Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres.
What the Power To The Players Act would do
Torres plans to introduce the Power To The Players Act in Congress. The proposed legislation would instruct the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules protecting video game ownership rights.
Under the plan, companies selling digital games would have to provide something stronger than a temporary licence that can expire without warning. Games dependent on online services would also need an offline mode that remains playable after the publisher shuts down its servers.
“If you pay for it, you own it,” Torres said, presenting the proposal as a straightforward consumer-protection principle.
The issue is relevant beyond console downloads. People who buy an arcade machine, restore a cabinet or collect older games also care about long-term access, working hardware and the ability to keep using a purchase after a company moves on.
A growing backlash against disappearing games
The proposal follows an expanding campaign against games that can become unplayable when online support ends. The Stop Killing Games movement has argued that publishers should not continue selling products that can be rendered useless once their servers are switched off.
Concerns about an all-digital future intensified after reports that Sony would stop producing physical PlayStation discs for its next console generation. The next Grand Theft Auto release is also expected to demonstrate the changing retail model: its box will contain a download code rather than a game disc, while the starting price is $80.
Torres said consumers should be able to own, play and transfer the games they purchase. In his view, a product that disappears when a company ends support resembles a rental presented as a sale. He described the matter as especially important for families saving to afford games, as well as an affordability issue while household costs continue to rise.
The proposal faces a difficult path
The bill has not yet been formally introduced, and its practical details remain unresolved. Major publishers are expected to lobby against restrictions affecting how games are made, sold and supported. Torres has not confirmed whether the proposal will attract cosponsors or support from Republican members of Congress.
It would also need to pass through the committee process before reaching a full vote. An estimated 87 per cent of legislation never even gets put to a full vote, highlighting the obstacles ahead.
For players weighing long-term value, the debate reinforces the difference between downloadable access and a game that can operate independently. RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide covers the practical questions worth asking before investing in a cabinet, while arcade parts can help owners maintain older systems.
Why Torres says games are different
Although Torres did not buy NBA 2K25, he said he grew up playing series including Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil and SOCOM. At 38, he is almost two decades younger than the median member of the House of Representatives, where many lawmakers were born before Pong arrived.
He described the proposed law as a return to the traditional expectation that buying a game meant being able to play it over the long term, as was common through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He also suggested that the legislation could establish a model for protecting ownership of other digital media.
The bill currently focuses on video games rather than films or music, despite digital movie purchases—including Terminator 2—being removed from customers’ libraries earlier this year. Torres argued that games have a distinctive relationship with collecting, ownership and the time players invest in them, but hopes the proposal could eventually influence rights across the wider digital economy.
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