diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Traits/TraitsInterfaces.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Traits/TraitsInterfaces.cs
index 32bd6bf229..c468982700 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Traits/TraitsInterfaces.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Traits/TraitsInterfaces.cs
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Traits
 	public interface INotifyActorDisposing { void Disposing(Actor self); }
 	public interface INotifyOwnerChanged { void OnOwnerChanged(Actor self, Player oldOwner, Player newOwner); }
 	public interface INotifyEffectiveOwnerChanged { void OnEffectiveOwnerChanged(Actor self, Player oldEffectiveOwner, Player newEffectiveOwner); }
+	public interface INotifyOwnerLost { void OnOwnerLost(Actor self); }
 
 	[RequireExplicitImplementation]
 	public interface IVoiced
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/OpenRA.Mods.Common.csproj b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/OpenRA.Mods.Common.csproj
index b5b134033a..4051d37f47 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/OpenRA.Mods.Common.csproj
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/OpenRA.Mods.Common.csproj
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Traits\Crates\RevealMapCrateAction.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Traits\Crates\SupportPowerCrateAction.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Traits\Crushable.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Traits\OwnerLostAction.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Traits\CustomSellValue.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Traits\DamagedByTerrain.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Traits\DeliversCash.cs" />
@@ -879,6 +880,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Traits\Player\PlayerResources.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UtilityCommands\DumpSequenceSheetsCommand.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UpdateRules\Rules\DefineLocomotors.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="UpdateRules\Rules\DefineOwnerLostAction.cs" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
   <Target Name="AfterBuild">
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/OwnerLostAction.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/OwnerLostAction.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60fd1de903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/OwnerLostAction.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#region Copyright & License Information
+/*
+ * Copyright 2007-2018 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS)
+ * This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made
+ * available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version. For more
+ * information, see COPYING.
+ */
+#endregion
+
+using System.Linq;
+using OpenRA.Traits;
+
+namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.Traits
+{
+	public enum OwnerLostActionType { ChangeOwner, Dispose, Kill }
+
+	[Desc("Perform an action when the actor's owner is defeated.")]
+	public class OwnerLostActionInfo : ConditionalTraitInfo
+	{
+		[FieldLoader.Require]
+		[Desc("What does this unit do when its owner loses.",
+		"Allowed values are 'ChangeOwner', 'Dispose', 'Kill'")]
+		public readonly OwnerLostActionType Action = OwnerLostActionType.Kill;
+
+		[Desc("Map player to use when 'Action' is 'ChangeOwner'.")]
+		public readonly string Owner = "Neutral";
+
+		public override object Create(ActorInitializer init) { return new OwnerLostAction(init, this); }
+	}
+
+	public class OwnerLostAction : ConditionalTrait<OwnerLostActionInfo>, INotifyOwnerLost
+	{
+		public OwnerLostAction(ActorInitializer init, OwnerLostActionInfo info)
+			: base(info) { }
+
+		void INotifyOwnerLost.OnOwnerLost(Actor self)
+		{
+			if (IsTraitDisabled)
+				return;
+
+			if (Info.Action == OwnerLostActionType.Kill)
+				self.Kill(self);
+			else if (Info.Action == OwnerLostActionType.Dispose)
+				self.Dispose();
+			else if (Info.Action == OwnerLostActionType.ChangeOwner)
+				self.ChangeOwner(self.World.Players.First(p => p.InternalName == Info.Owner));
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/ConquestVictoryConditions.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/ConquestVictoryConditions.cs
index 6a40a74261..447458fb34 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/ConquestVictoryConditions.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/ConquestVictoryConditions.cs
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.Traits
 
 		public void OnPlayerLost(Player player)
 		{
-			foreach (var a in player.World.Actors.Where(a => a.Owner == player))
-				a.Kill(a);
+			foreach (var a in player.World.ActorsWithTrait<INotifyOwnerLost>().Where(a => a.Actor.Owner == player))
+				a.Trait.OnOwnerLost(a.Actor);
 
 			if (info.SuppressNotifications)
 				return;
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/StrategicVictoryConditions.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/StrategicVictoryConditions.cs
index bee659e249..0817e9b818 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/StrategicVictoryConditions.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Traits/Player/StrategicVictoryConditions.cs
@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.Traits
 
 		public void OnPlayerLost(Player player)
 		{
-			foreach (var a in player.World.Actors.Where(a => a.Owner == player))
-				a.Kill(a);
+			foreach (var a in player.World.ActorsWithTrait<INotifyOwnerLost>().Where(a => a.Actor.Owner == player))
+				a.Trait.OnOwnerLost(a.Actor);
 
 			if (info.SuppressNotifications)
 				return;
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/Rules/DefineOwnerLostAction.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/Rules/DefineOwnerLostAction.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6de0d7642f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/Rules/DefineOwnerLostAction.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#region Copyright & License Information
+/*
+ * Copyright 2007-2018 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS)
+ * This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made
+ * available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version. For more
+ * information, see COPYING.
+ */
+#endregion
+
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+
+namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.UpdateRules.Rules
+{
+	public class DefineOwnerLostAction : UpdateRule
+	{
+		public override string Name { get { return "Add OwnerLostAction to player-controlled actors"; } }
+		public override string Description
+		{
+			get
+			{
+				return "A new OwnerLostAction trait has been introduced to control what happens to a\n" +
+				"player's actors when they are defeated. A warning is displayed notifying that\nthis trait must be added to actors.";
+			}
+		}
+
+		bool reported;
+		public override IEnumerable<string> AfterUpdate(ModData modData)
+		{
+			if (!reported)
+				yield return "All player-controlled (or player-capturable) actors should define an OwnerLostAction trait\n" +
+					"specifying an action (Kill, Dispose, ChangeOwner) to apply when the actor's owner is defeated.\n" +
+					"You must manually define this trait on the appropriate default actor templates.\n" +
+					"Actors missing this trait will remain controllable by their owner after they have been defeated.";
+
+			reported = true;
+		}
+
+		public override IEnumerable<string> UpdateActorNode(ModData modData, MiniYamlNode actorNode)
+		{
+			yield break;
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/UpdatePath.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/UpdatePath.cs
index 74cefc988e..3e7de09e52 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/UpdatePath.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/UpdateRules/UpdatePath.cs
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.UpdateRules
 				new AddShakeToBridge(),
 				new AddEditorPlayer(),
 				new RemovePaletteFromCurrentTileset(),
-				new DefineLocomotors()
+				new DefineLocomotors(),
+				new DefineOwnerLostAction()
 			})
 		};