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]
[Image] "Don't Starve Together" (PlayStation)
This was already sort of a problem I think because I booted up my PS3 earlier this year and my Playstation account credentials didn’t work because of some new account verification bullshit, and I couldn’t play my PS Store digital games, only discs.
If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing*
*
I know Steam makes you tick a box saying "hey, paying for the game here means you are paying for a tempory licence. But l am 100% ready to switch to piracy if this comes to Steam. I will am happy to pay the devs through a steam purchase, but just pirate the game afterwards.
Huh, I vaguely recall micro$lop wanting something similar with their XB1, back in 2013.
Kids who aren’t allowed to play during the school term are gonna log on their holidays to a very bad surprise
So i am clear, as this will affect me, it isn’t saying i need a subscription, just that i need to have my ps5 connected to the internet?
Can someone help me to understand why this is an issue if i play online games as well as offline.
Does it just mean it becomes a problem when support for the ps5 stops? Like when you cant log in anymore?
We should make one exception and let Valve have a monopoly on video games until Gabe dies. They get Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, all of it. For safekeeping.
The company that inserted itself as a middleman into a once-open gaming platform and added a layer of online DRM to all games you buy, even offline single player games. Outstanding. Good job, everyone.
And yet! If you HAVE to choose a major game company to do the right thing, they’re the closest we’re gonna get of the major players. Which is rich. I agree with you. They used to be arch villains in gaming and now, RELATIVELY speaking, look like angels.
laughs in Indie and Retro gaming
Haven’t turned on my ps5 since 22. Don’t plan on it. But when I do, it won’t be connected to the internet.
Hopefully some easy hacking methods will be available by then.
I used to work on cruise ships and a lot of crew (and crew rec areas) had Playstations. They don’t have internet connections. Guess this means they won’t be buying Playstations anymore.
Oh, no, I hope nobody knows how to fake a NIST time server and set the clock back to before it expired, that would be awful.
I imagine after it expires it will trigger some flag somewhere and will never work again.
Ah yes, the BlizzActivision gambit. Best countered by selling your PlayStation and getting a PC.
In this economy?
Buy a used PC that can run anything released up to ~2014 and you’re golden.
Most new games such anyway. Literally millions of titles from 95- 2014 that are excellent.
Physical media collectors proven correct once more.
Physical media collectors will have so much fun playing their games without day 1 patches in the future…
Let’s be realistic, they fuck everyone over. Physical and digital.
Only the pirates get the best copies
They will still have more fun than someone who cannot download (or reactivate the already downloaded) game without a functioning server. Plus they could even sell it, if they wanted to. I’m digital only PC Gamer and even I understand the benefits of physical media (provided its all on disk / cart).
This is of course not a problem for game, but some are downright broken without the day 1 patch, so there’s no fun to be had with these games. Being able to play a crashing, stuttering version of a game is not on my list of upsides of owning a physical copy. And selling the disc, knowing that it’s nonfunctional is below me.
I fail to see the benefits. I’d be on your side without a doubt up until the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 era, but after that it started to crumble, as the finished product too often was not all on disc.
I recently bought a Ebook from Bookshop.org thinking I could download and transfer it to my cracked Kindle and to support the author only to find out it is DRM locked and can only be read on their specific apps, so now I am asking for a refund and meanwhile downloaded a copy of the book throught other legal sources and enjoying it, all these lockin systems just screw over the paying customers and incentivize sailing the high seas, brain dead greedy pigs will dig their own grave and then pass the blame to others
/me *Smugly looks on after having boycotted Sony for over 2 decades*
Sony made a fucking Xbox One. Exactly the version that made the internet crucify Microsoft. This is incredible.
This is entirely on brand for Sony. Don’t forget, this is the same company that installed a rootkit on people’s computers for the audacity of *checks notes* putting their music CD into their computer.
Ooooo, I hadn’t heard about this.
Can you link to more info?
Edit: Nevermind, my lousy google-fu proved adequate.to find this one. Link for the lazy
It was a huge story, if you Google “sony rootkit” you’ll find a million results
Exactly the version that made the internet crucify Microsoft.
Not exactly. It’s actually worse.
The Xbox system has your primary console get a permanent license, you only need to be online if you’re using a different console.
This 30 day limit even applies to your primary Playstation console. Meaning the whole primary thing is effectively useless. At least as this system currently exists now.
Damn so Xbox is better about this now lmao
And the whole board of directors nodded and clapped their hands. Nobody understood what it was about, but did it anyway.
This wasn’t a Board decision, it’s not nearly at that level (especially for a company with $80B in revenue). This was some software engineer with an idea and a need to impress his boss.
This is exactly what I thought when I read this. That funny little commercial they made back then isn’t so funny now.
