PS5, PS4 Game Expiry DRM Concerns Escalate as Sony Remains Silent on Issue

I’ll give Sony time to explain themselves, but if this is an attempt to force DRM into PlayStation……….let’s just say that my faith in Sony will be at an all time low.

Sony are really testing my patience this generation.

Isn't this the same with Xbox consoles, any digital purchases can be played without being connected to the Internet for 30 days, after 30 days you have to connect to the Internet to renew the license and then you can disconnect from the Internet and play again for another 30 days before needing to renew again.

If you're are always connected to the internet or connect a few times a week then this will never be an issue for you.

For those few that do go longer than 30 days without connecting to the internet you don't actually lose access to your games, you can go 100 days without playing your console you just renew everything when you finally do connect to the Internet.

I thought this was already a thing with Playstation as well or maybe that's just with Playstation Plus games.

Buy physical games. Digital games should be cheaper anyways considering manufacturing processes aren't involved. My $80 disc drive on the PS5 Pro (upgraded from base before price hike) has paid for itself in a month with games I've borrowed from my library. Companies aren't your friend, brand loyalty is outdated.

Please somebody tell me this is a joke.

Definitely seems like a glitch. This system would exist on the operating system for PS Plus games, something has happened where it's being applied to all software.

People acting like those who buy digital games don't have any means to access the internet. lol. Non issue, if it's not just a glitch to begin with. There's been zero proof that it's not been related to being a secondary console, doing game sharing, a PS+ title, etc. From what I've seen it's only on PS4 and the majority of comments elsewhere are calling bs on the accuracy of the claims being made.

You will own nothing and you will like it.

#BuyPhysical

This has to be a glitch. I can't see anyone at Sony actually implementing this on purpose.

It’s usually a bug, it’s happened several times before and people always kick off as if it’s deliberate even though the clues are there that it isnt.

People like Lance McDonald should know better before making assumption posts like that blaming draconian drm rather than asking the question of it being a glitch, especially given he quotes a post that in full points out it might be a bug due to previous evidence.

I’m assuming it’s a bug until we hear otherwise.

I had the same thing happen the other day. A game I ordered from VGP arrived and I opened the box, peeled off the cellophane, and when I pried open the jewel case there was this note saying my game was about to expire. The disc flung itself into the air and exploded into confetti. That’s what I get for foolishly buying physical media

This would literally drive me back to PC.

Let’s hope it’s not true.

Everything points to this being a bug but I'm sure a lot of people won't let that get in the way of a good old outrage.

What impressed me the most was seeing so many people truly believing that they would have their paid games literally removed from their accounts if they didn't appear online for more than 30 days.

Of course, if there really is any new DRM practice, it's going to be horrible and everyone has to go down on Sony for it. But it's much more likely that the system will require users to go online at least once every 30 days to renew licenses, not that the game will be removed from accounts or anything like that. One user said his licenses were renewed automatically every time he went online on PSN.

Modded Warfare (of the biggest YT channels when it comes to PlayStation exploits, hacking and piracy) claims this is a way for Sony to prevent new exploits.

@RawnDawn No I think the system was created to deactivate ps plus extra/Now as it was titles.

@Balaam_ I hate it when that happens. So annoying.

@nolifebr I don’t buy the exploit line, pretty much all the exploits are due to bugs in the firmware, usually through common code used in licensed/open source libraries. All PlayStations since ps3 have used freebsd which is effectively UNIX so it’s exposed to any outdated or compromised elements of that code until those components are updated.

@AdamNovice - McDonald has a huge beef with Sony since SIE sent a cease & desist on one of his Bloodborne mods (I don't remember correctly, but I think he was distributing modified versions of the game to be played on unlocked PS4s or something like that)

@Ainu20 Why let a good crisis go to waste?

@LowDefAl - He explains that there's a kernel exploit called userland, that some specific games have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIPuXAd6KCA

This is why I don't buy games digitally on Sony's systems very often. I simply don't trust them to not screw it up with a glitch. It's happened too many times.

Discs are probably the solution, that's if they don't start implementing the same kind of DRM for it!
I just can't accept the idea of buying an items I can't own and touch!

@NB-DanTE Don’t give them any ideas! We already have some companies requiring Internet to install a disc.

Do I grab my pitchfork now or wait till an actually statement comes out?

@Oram77 you grab the pitch forks and I'll gather the tar and feathers. It's probably a bug and nothing to be worried about.

@Northern_munkey Oh I 100% agree with you, but it doesn't stop the drama queens (mostly on twitter) running with it and claiming it as fact 🙄

Sony took the worst idea from the Xbox one announcement and made it real. Not even Microsoft dared to do it. I'm not impressed

I bet it's a bug and ppl are already going ballistic c'mon we know Sony has dumb ideas but this one would be beyond dumb relax guys

@Rhaoulos It’s most likely a bug. This has happened in the past.

Please don't repost Lance Mcdonald. He is an attention seeing wannabe hacker who is rude and has an obsession with younger looking Asian girls, which borders on racism and pdf.

Another reason to buy physical media whenever possible, whether this is erroneous or not.

@DETfaninATL Physical>digital and I will die on that hill!

This is similar with PS3 digital games. If you press triangle on the game and check "Information", it shows the date you bought it with "Starts" then "Expires" and "Remaining Time". My Disgaea 1 and The Darkness II digital copy remaining time showed "Expired" and can't be play. Luckily the rest of my PS3 digital games showed "No Time Limit" in the remaining time.

But that one twitter said about CMOS battery died could be the reason. My PS3 CMOS battery has died and probably if i replaced it i could play Disgaea 1 and The Darkness II again? 🤔

Also, physical > digital. This is another reason why physical is king 🤝

I’ve switched back to buying physical for this reason.. but this sounds like an unintended bug. Let em work it out, stuff happens.

Completely understand the jumping to conclusions, however.

Nothing to worry about so stop freaking out it dam bug no one taking your dam games

Sony has fallen so low people find it hard to believe it's not intentional anymore

@UltimateOtaku91 that's only for game pass games, bought content works offline fine.

I know this because a friend was working as a doctor in the middle of nowhere with spotty satellite internet at best, which was not enough to connect to xbox live, and he was able to play his digital games offline.

He stayed there for like two years and rarely managed to get his xbox online.

Are there really players in 2026 who go 30+ days without connecting their console to the Internet? This is another big nothing.

Lol, all of you in this comment thread smugly talking about how you only buy physical seem to be willfully ignoring the fact that a considerable number of disks nowadays do not actually ship with the full game on it and/or will not work without an update.
You don't actually own anything either.

@LifeGirl It still a better option than digital copy.

Sony, why do you want to kill the brand?

@PercyChuggs Cope harder

@LifeGirl if you buy physical edition from ***** companies, them yes, you are right.

>Could be a bug
Brother, it is a bug no doubt, probably just an UI one too.

All games since the ps3 have had this, to a degree. Owned games would show a start date and no end date. Games that were acquired via a subscription would have the 30 day deadline on the games and they would expire when your subscription expires.

@LifeGirl nope wrong. We are all aware that the disc will only contain a code but we get a nice box with nice art work and the code for around £20 cheaper sometimes.

@PercyChuggs Yes. There are many people who take a break, have family issues arise, experience a health crisis, are deployed, or any number of other issues.

Ah the bug/CMOS and more. How much is it the case this time compared to when they solved it. For PS+ this makes sense. For the other hmm.

Then again online passes for PS3 with Sony, to other things. The CMOS issue wasn't solved with PS3 so I assume it didn't matter?

I've had my PS3 in offline mode for digital and it works fine anyway, got a dodgey Wifi chip so my network settings/PS3 controllers don't connect, so I know.

PS4 i haven't used in months and I haven't had any warnings and I have checked the days thing before and it's not that bad.

The trophy syncing sure but that's maybe about it.

How much of this is believeable, why people say it and so on eh.

We can wait for Sony to tell us what's what, if they solve it 'again'.

I'm aware of the Ubisoft checks and played Lost Crown/Fenix Rising/Beyond Good and Evil Remaster to skip Uplay and other sign ins from my PS4/Switch network connection (turn on after) when I play those (rarely).

@PercyChuggs Other then the subscriptions or demos with timers.

Or can we not factor in 2nd hand market consoles sitting there not used for however long.

Whatever new in box models never been used 'ever'.

Or people like me who hasn't cared to turn my Xbox One for a year, my PS4 for months now (no I am not using a PS5/Xbox Series, others around me are, I'm playing Switch 1 and retro, I've checked the PS app a few times though).

They still work fine even when I turn them on, do a firmware update or sync them, not hard. But I have a fair connection with them to my network (or turn off if need be).

@PercyChuggs Hey, you just described me!

I haven't plugged my PS5 Digital Edition (2020 model, what a bargain!) in since late 2024.

Further, our Internet cables got cut over a week ago I'm currently running on my phones 4G and that isn't fast enough for downloading or playing games online anyway. At least until BT come and fix it.

So yeah, let's say, hypothetically, this was real, and it was the worst case scenario of license revocation, then my library just got wiped.

As it stands, it's probably a glitch....that comes with its own UI anyway, but it's still food for thought that the capability is even there at all.

@Haruki_NLI I don't think you need to log in directly on your PS4 / PS5. I assume you just need to log into your account through the app or on PC (PS Store for example) and it will register.
That would make most sense to me.

Cases like this are the reason why I am sceptical of future console generations supporting physical media. Unfortunately every platform holder, including Sony, want the users to be "always online", to avoid issues with offline DRM.

We’ll be the first to criticise the platform holder if this does turn out to be a new type of DRM, but with no communication from the company and a lot of misinformation flooding social media, we’d urge everyone to stay calm until more details emerge.

Push Square used Rational Thinking. Comment Section avoided the attack.

Comment Section used Outrage.

@RockyOfficial Problem with that is a lot of more recent games are little more than a game key on a disc. Starfield for one, Crimson Desert another. Granted with the latter you get a pretty plush deluxe edition for the same price as Starfield but even so.
Capcom on the other hand have done us proud with both RE9 and Pragmata, both games would work fine from disc albeit maybe a few glitches here and there but nothing game breaking.

And Sony will keep whipping their customers until morale improves!!

Bunch of BS. I fired my ps4 after months and not sign in to PSN. Games from PS plus essentials show a validity of 200 days left; games from PS plus extra have expired; probably because they have only a month to validate. All my digital purchases have no validity period, I can play them offline. This is probably a bug of double licensing, purchased and claimed in ps plus extra.

The internet jumping to conclusions with no rational thought? Well colour me shocked.

@Zuljaras I think people who jump then make up things in their own heads are the worst your games are ok

@Zuljaras Dumb comment is dumb. You think Sony is just supposed to be okay with having say 10 friends all log into each others accounts, download each others entire digital library, disconnect from the internet, and just keep games they never purchased? Say each person has 100 digital games on their account. According to you and several others, Sony should just let all 10 people play the 900 games they didn't buy on their own account, for free, indefinitely, just by disconnecting from the internet. LOL! Get real.

Is this yet another great example of SONY HAVING A TRULY ***** GAMING GENERATION.

Competition is healthy and it can keep companies honestish.

The lack of a true competitor for Sony has Sony making some horrid decisions.

@Propaperpusher I keep hearing this, yet Microsoft have had awful DRM on Series X since day one. Switch 2 is awash with Game Key Cards.

Why didn't competition keep them in check?

You're unable to replicate it on the PS5 because it's not happening on the PS5.

@Zuljaras Why do I have to repeat myself again and again. There is not even anything going on that's anti-consumer. And "childish"... Says the guy rambling on about stupid conspiracy theories. 😂

I never would have put Microsoft and Sony swapping customer service places on my 2026 bingo card.

How do people get riled up so quickly without any real information? Do people not realize that waiting to know more is far less stressful than jumping to conclusions and being angry over something you don’t even know is definitive?

Even I would sue Sony if they done the revoking for not connecting online in 30 days.. literally have zero rights to do so

@Zuljaras Xbox bot or euro PC trash can?

@Haruki_NLI if I buy a loaf of bread and forget to eat it and it goes bad, that's my fault, not the baker's. Consumers are responsible for managing and taking care of the things they buy.

I spoke to Playstation today about this, nothing has been confirmed. and it seems more likely to be a bug they were trying to fix concerning DRM.

@UltimateOtaku91 they also wanted a system that let you play games with out the disc but you needed an online check in not sure if every time for the game or not. i thought it was interesting , people were so against it, but then they did b/c with the xb360 that requires you to download a file online meaning if you don't have the internet then you can't play 360 games.

We need better laws to protect all consumers.

Digital games, digital movie purchases, music streamers, tv streamers, they're all scams.

I find the arguments against this to be a bit weak.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with a firm wanting to protect themselves from having their products stolen or used outside of the license agreement with regards to how many users are able to use it. Let’s face it, this type of DRM exists because a lot of you would engage in fraud otherwise by using crafty workarounds to allow half your mates and friends and family to play the game.

Having to check in with the server once every 30 days seems extremely reasonable to me. I’d find it odd that people who seem to be able to post on these message boards multiple times a day, every single day, 365 days a year, are seemingly unable to connect their console online once a month.

I’m sure the same people are on social media every day, and certainly do not go more than 30 days without browsing their favourite adult sites.

Yes, of course if your console breaks you cannot logon in order to activate the license. So the whole issue around the battery seems like clutching at straws to me.

@Dogbreath Let’s face it, this type of DRM exists because a lot of you would engage in fraud otherwise by using crafty workarounds to allow half your mates and friends and family to play the game.

Loving the accusation that most against this are thieves. You must be a lovely individual./s

You'll forgive me if I don't trust a corporate entity to not want to screw over consumers by removing access to something that was legally purchased. My good faith is assuming this is a bug, but it certainly is a very real bug if so; I did a test purchase when the news first broke. Doesn't say anything on PS5, but when checking on PS4, definitely had the issue as reported.

@MS7000 as a proud Amiga owner back in the late 80s and early 90s, who saw a huge amount of harm done to the system as a result of rampant piracy, I absolutely 100% do believe that “a lot” of people here would pirate games or have friends and family simultaneously using the same license, given half a chance.

It’s not even a “belief"; it was a fact that when gamers could pirate, they did so in massive numbers. In the same way it is a fact that people abuse the Netflix family package and ruin it for everyone else.

That’s not to say “a majority“ as you falsely attributed to me saying, although I'd speculate that it was certainly a majority back in the Amiga days.

Let’s not beat around the bush; the reason why all these DRM systems exist is because people steal or misuse the products otherwise in significant numbers.

I don’t know what conspiracy theory people have for why else publishers and developers require online activation every 30 days or systems like denuvo to be installed.

For decades, gamers played silly games, and now they’ve won silly prizes. Actions have consequences, although as I have pointed out, aside from the contrived fantasy scenarios that people are inventing as a reason to oppose this, this system has absolutely zero impact on a legitimate legal customer.

The same cannot be said of something like denuvo, which seems to screw over the paying customers like me, and not the Pirates.

I’m very happy with the 30 day online check. It has absolutely zero impact on me or any other legitimate purchaser, and if it prevents a person playing the game who hasn’t rightfully contributed towards the development costs by paying for it, then that's mighty fine by me.

Fools buying digital 🤷‍♂️

Sony are so bad at communicating with their customers. It feels like when they were humbled back around the PS4 launch, they were a bit better about it. Now, they just can’t be bothered.

I noticed on the weekend, my PS3 wanted me to set the date and time with the internet before I could play a
Daytona USA, so I wonder if PS3 too.

@MasterChiefWiggum there is nothing to be worried about your games are fine and everyone making it big deal need to go outside touch some grass

This must be a bug or mistake otherwise this is going to be huge!
They can't seriously want to do this to people??
This would be devastating for playstation if it's intended?

@Dogbreath "I’m very happy with the 30 day online check. It has absolutely zero impact on me or any other legitimate purchaser, and if it prevents a person playing the game who hasn’t rightfully contributed towards the development costs by paying for it, then that's mighty fine by me."

The problem is that in the future your game library may become unplayable. Let's say that Sony's verification servers close (or they migrate their servers to different address), then you would not be able to play your legally purchased games, even if they're downloaded to your system.

Similarly, if your CMOS battery dies, that would cause the same issue although that would be fixable if the servers are still up.

@Skinny-Pete What? Why would it be devastating? If a person is buying digital games they obviously have internet service in order to buy and download games. Thus they would also have internet access to verify every 30 days. If this is real, it's a complete non-issue. Absolutely nothing devastating about it.

@Almost_Ghostly It's not a problem right now, but it may be a problem in ten years or so. You can't guarantee that Sony will keep their verification servers up to date for multiple past generations of consoles.

Edit: Oh, and I suppose it could be inconvenient if you have limited access to internet connection.

"We have contacted Sony for comment and we’ve yet to receive word back."

Maybe they've heard how the article author finds updates "tiring"... 😂

Hello everyone.

Anyone knows the date since when if you bought the game it is affected?

@Almost_Ghostly It is if you want to play offline especially if the games were playable offline before hand.
There's literally no reason for them to implement this in my opinion.
Why do it?
Maybe devastating is a bit strong of a word but it's definitely an big issue and a negative no doubt about that!
Just making ps4 games not playable offline is a bad move!

Sony always remains silent until the issue is eventually quietly patched and I hear about it either here or on Mystic's channel.

@KoopaTheGamer Oh, come on. You can still buy games and download previously purchased games on a PS3.

While xbox been taking small dubs recently due to the new leadership, Sony is stepping in to collect the L's.

@Skinny-Pete If this isn't just a bug or something, you could still play your games offline. You'd just need to connect briefly then you could go back offline. Don't try to say "But what if I don't have internet access?" It's 2026, if a person has absolutely zero way to access the internet they have bigger problems. A person could even hotspot to their phone for all of maybe 30 seconds to verify.

@Bamila That implies Xbox doesn't require any verification after a certain time frame. News flash, they do.

Found a local place to replace my PS3 Slim's CMOS battery for about £40 as it's asking for date & time every time it starts up now.

@KoopaTheGamer That "But what if I don't have internet access?" line I keep seeing people use is silly. It's 2026, if a person has absolutely zero means whatsoever to access the internet they have bigger problems. A person could even hotspot to their phone for all of maybe 30 seconds to verify. People that buy and download digital games aren't leaving their consoles disconnected for 30+ days and they aren't concerned about not having internet access. This entire thing, if not a bug, is so grossly overblown.

@sanderson72 That's such an incredibly easy thing to do on your own. Could have saved yourself a bit of moola. Only thing needed is two different screwdrivers. No soldering or anything like that at all.

@Almost_Ghostly It's not ideal and it's unnecessary a user shouldn't need to sign in online to access a game that's downloaded onto the console Xbox doesn't make you do it on Xbox one and as far as I know you don't need to do it on the original switch.
Bad decision and unessesary it brings not positives just negatives you should be able to play digital games downloaded on your console offline.
I get it's not the end of the world but there isn't really any defense for making this happen.

Didn't this help kill the original version of the XBoxOne?

Thanks for the update. Though I still can't get over the word "expiry". 😂

For all the people defending this, for some odd reason, it is a bit more of the principal of the thing.

When you go to a car dealership to buy or lease a car you have different prices and different rules for each. If you buy it you leave, it's yours, do with it what you will. If you lease it for much less money you have to follow the rules and check back in when the lease is up.

The games industry pretends, PRETENDS, it is selling us a game by letting us BUY or PURCHASE a digital game, but then makes us jump through hoops like it's a lease. Then they point to the very small teeny tiny print about how we never actually bought or purchased anything, it's all just us paying full price for a game we don't own.

So there's the real actual problem, not the expiry and checking in, it's the companies charging us full price to "purchase" a game when they know we don't own anything, we have to keep playing by their rules.

So all digital storefronts should tell the truth, LEASE this game for $69.99, and then we all know what we're getting into.

I think the full time lie of the full price purchase of games on Stadia killed it more than the tech. The tech functioned, but it's a big bad bold faced lie to say we are buying or purchasing anything in the cloud. That should be illegal, full stop. Full priced cloud games is a hill I will die on. This is just their attempt to spread the cloud "ownership" lie to all digital "sales" when anyone can tell it's just a lease at a purchase price.

And I thought Sony and PS said PSN is no more,then why is it still in every article? 🤷‍♂️

@Almost_Ghostly It's a somewhat unlikely scenario but some people do go to their cabins in the middle of nowhere with no connection or bad connection. I wouldn't personally carry a console there, but I know people who do. Not to mention, sometimes Sony has network issues so this change could at the very least inconvenience people.

Besides, it's about principle. If I purchase a game, I want to be certain that I have access to it in the future. I don't like the fact that if Sony decides to change the rules, suddenly that certainty is gone.

@Skinny-Pete You CAN play them offline. You just need to "check-in". There's also zero proof thus far that this is even actually a thing. The images shared were PS+ titles and VERY few people are even reporting this as actually happening to them. There's also no evidence whatsoever that the consoles weren't game sharing and set to secondary console.

@KoopaTheGamer still waiting for the games I bought on Steam in 2003 to stop working.

Crazy to think that I bought those games before many of you were born, and people at the time were using the exact same arguments against!

Many of them are now Grandfathers and it still ain't happened!

Not that I care to even play any of those games. I don’t have enough spare time to play the games that are coming out now, without going back and playing games I purchased 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

It's like worrying an asteroid will wipe out the human race. Yeah technically it might, but I wouldn't worry about it....

@KoopaTheGamer It is incredibly unlikely. People just don't go to a remote location with at least no cell service for over 30 days with zero way to even contact anyone in case of emergency. And if they are doing that, the likelyhood that they're even remotely interested in playing their video games is slim to absolute zero. About not having access to games in the future, that's also incredibly unlikely. You can still download and play purchased games on a 360, XB1, PS3, PS4, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, etc.

@Almost_Ghostly We do know this is happening right now though my friend and everyone is still unsure if after that 30 days without a sign in you won't lose access totally to the game.
Hopefully it is a bug because it's bad practice and all the speculation is because Sony haven't given anyone a definite answer on this so what are people to believe?
If all this turns out to be legitimately happening there's no defence for it in that case unless you're a Sony employee and have to tow to line?

@Dogbreath This isn't about digital games themselves, it's about (online) DRM. And DRM has made some Steam games unplayable (I recall Assassin's Creed 2 having this issue, unless it has been solved). You may have a game in your library, you may be able to download it, but it may not actually let you play it.