Hugely terrible DRM has now been rolled out to all PS4 and PS5 digital games. Every digital game you buy now requires an online check-in every 30 days. If you buy a digital game and don’t connect your console to the internet for 30 days, your license will be removed.
Source [2026-04-25; +image]
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You wouldn’t “lose” it, the licence would be restored after connecting to internet… provided Sony’s servers are still functioning when you do…
Source [2026-04-25]
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…Trophies on PS4 require the internal system clock (the one you can’t see / alter) to be correct, so people cant change their PS4 date/time to make it look like they got trophies earlier than they really did. If your PS4 clock battery dies, all your games die
Source [2021-03-23]
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Newly purchased PS4 games now have 30 day valid license timer.
Most likely introduced in March 2026 firmware.
Could be a bug similar to an incident from 2022.
PS5 is affected too, but only shows an error when starting a game.Source [2026-04-25]
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Update x2: not a bug - PlayStation just quietly confirmed it’s intentional.
Any digital game you buy after the march 2026 update now requires you to go online at least once every 30 days or it won’t even launch.Source [2026-04-28]
[Image] Official PlayStation Support Response [2026-04-28]
Source: https://xcancel.com/SmashJT/status/2048887546323808258#m
[Image] "Don't Starve Together" (PlayStation)
FWIW according to an insider, this is a bug. People have been saying this menu is for PS+ games that expire when your subscription runs out.
Incredibly stupid that Sony isn’t responding about this at all though.
Cynical conspiracy: They want to gauge how bad the backlash is to see if they could get away with it for real. Assuming that it actually is a bug.
Why would they want to? What is the business model for this? How would it make them more money?
“It helps prevent piracy”
I don’t know, maybe by revoking licenses they could then re-sell those licenses and save money?
They don’t revoke them
Sony have never been technically competent. It’s why their online service is breached/down seemingly every other year.
This is the one reason why the Xbox 360 was THE online gaming console for a while because Sony’s servers were horrible.
Their main development hub for this part of the platform is in my city and they list for new contract to hire or direct hire positions pretty regularly. I’ve been hesitant to apply ever because despite their obvious incompetence, I’m sure the interview process is a gatekeeping nightmare, and one manager I had was from there and thought he was God’s gift to software despite being the creepiest, technically dull reject I’ve ever been managed by.
I think he was running part of Sony home when it was breached and leaked everyone’s information.
Thank you! I’ve updated the post, and added more context. I am sorry, but it does not look like a bug.
Oof, that’s crazy. What were they thinking?
ima gonna go with “why tf didn’t we do this from the start?”