When you pay for a video game, you should own it outright. That is the plain-spoken argument in a renewed effort to force game companies to give players lasting rights over their purchases. Digital stores today sell mostly licenses, which lets publishers switch off the servers a title depends on and leave buyers with a product that no longer runs. Campaigners point to shutdowns where paying customers lost access with little warning and next to no refund. The proposed fix would legally require ownership, keeping a bought game playable even after online support ends. Publishers counter that server costs and licensing agreements make open-ended guarantees impossible. Regulators in several countries have started looking at consumer rules that would close that gap.