Previously pursued the 'Stop Killing Games' initiative hit a dead endMeanwhile, on the 15th, US Representative Ritchie Torres announced plans to introduce a new bill guaranteeing a certain level of game ownership. While it is only at the introduction stage rather than immediate legislation, this is bound to stir up the game ownership debate once again just as things seemed to be quieting down. At the heart of this massive snowball that even moved the US Federal Congress lies the closure of The Crew service two years ago, which many initially dismissed as a mere tiny spark. That snowball has rolled and grown in size, ultimately resulting in nation-level legislative action.

In fact, the issue of losing game ownership on digital platforms has been continuously raised before, such as through the unilateral deletion of certain content on the PlayStation Store or the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop However, in the past, a solid alternative existed in the form of physical discs to make up for this. Back when related bills were first introduced and ownership controversies began in earnest, demands were limited to asking for a bare minimum of post-service support after shutdowns. But starting with Sony declaring that it will completely halt the production of discs for all new PlayStation gamesstarting in 2028discussions regarding ownership rapidly intensified.

The core of this new 'game ownership act' is largely similar to the previous Stop Killing Gamesinitiative. The main point is to prevent the practice where publishers only sell licenses that can be unilaterally revoked, allowing players to truly own the games they paid for. Therefore, even for games that require an online connection, the objective is to mandate an offline mode before servers shut down. It aims to narrow the bizarre gap between purchasing a game and actually owning it. The European Commission has also stated that while legally enforcing Stop Killing Games is difficult, it plans to establish future industry codes of conduct and run awareness campaigns, so future changes are certainly anticipated.

Of course, there is no guarantee that introducing a bill will automatically lead to final legislation. Some critics point out that clear answers are hard to come by due to realistic barriers such as client modification, maintaining development and post-launch support staff, supporting redownloads, and server management. But gamers are not oblivious to these practical problems. If platform holders and publishers had not continuously engaged in high-handed service shutdowns and actions that erode trust, trust between the two sides would never have plummeted to this degree.