File Class: Community-Sealed ● Status: Open Investigation Docket $HOS
Case No. HOS-2026-DRM Filed by: The Hostages Jurisdiction: Everyone Who Ever Bought a Game

People vs. The Kill-Switch

Exhibit intake now open — $HOS token
Access
Revoked

There was a time when buying a disc (game) meant we owned the game, forever. That era is over. Major publishers are retiring physical media on purpose, funneling every purchase into a closed digital storefront they fully control. What we are handed at checkout isn't a game — it's a license, and it comes with a clause buried in the fine print letting them flip a switch, shut the servers, and delete the thing we paid for. No refund. No appeal. That's the case we are building. $HOS is our community-driven movement built to fight for digital ownership and hold the gaming industry accountable.

Our Activism Treasury: The 3 Pillars of $HOS

3 exhibits on file
Exhibit A

Funding Games We Actually Own

Big studios care more about microtransactions and always-online requirements than us players. Our $HOS community treasury supports indie developers, private server hosts, and modders who make games we can actually play offline. We fund creators who believe that when we buy software, it belongs to us.

Grants reviewed quarterly by treasury vote.
Exhibit B

Giving Back When Companies Delete Our Games

It is wrong when a company permanently shuts down a game we paid full price for. When a major studio kills a game, our goal is to step in. If one of us can show a receipt for a deleted game, we aim to send them free $HOS tokens — our way of helping each other recover lost money while forcing the public to notice these unfair practices.

Not a guaranteed payout. Subject to governance & treasury balance.
Exhibit C

Fighting for Our Rights

We are tired of losing our digital libraries. In 2026, over a million of us signed a petition to stop companies from destroying video games, but lobbyists pushed back. We aren't demanding they run servers forever — we are demanding mandatory offline patches when a game shuts down. A portion of our $HOS treasury is dedicated to supporting consumer rights campaigns and legal efforts that challenge unfair rules and fight for "End of Life" offline modes for every game.

Outcomes depend on active campaigns and available funds.
Closing Argument

They took away the cartridge. They took away the physical disk. Now, they are trying to take away our right to own our games. It is time we stand up for our digital libraries. If buying isn't owning, then taking our games away is a breach of trust.

Welcome to the resistance