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)
Further reinforcing my decision to hard dump Sony after the PS4.
Same, except I dumped them a lot longer ago. (And frankly, I didn’t own much from them even before that, except a '90s Walkman and maybe a few other small things.)
This is bad news for me – I was planning to buy Sony but if they’re going to be assholes as well, only PC is clean, and then only GoG, Humble Bundle etc.
Steam actually isn’t terrible, fortunately.
I mean, it’s not GREAT, it still fucks you over by requiring updates for games (it literally will not let you play a game that has an update available without updating), and I’m a bit squiffy about the offline mode and whether it’d work offline long-term, but they don’t seem to be ACTIVELY malicious (with offline mode I’m more worried about it like, forgetting your login details and wanting a re-login, than i am about intentional “it’s been X days since you were online, you’re not allowed to play!” crap).
GOG is of course better for guaranteed offline availability. For stuff that’s available on GOG. A lot of stuff isn’t. But for stuff that is, GOG’s pretty great.
Also, you do have to trust that Valve won’t turn terrible. And they might do that as soon as GabeN dies. No way to tell. Even if they do turn hostile, though, there are apparently Steam API emulator tools that you could use to bypass Steam DRM checks (which of course does nothing for games that have e.g. Denuvo, but a lot of games on Steam just use Steam’s stuff (that’s probably the entire reason Steam even has DRM, is to let devs use that instead of something more invasive) and a lot of games on Steam are actually DRM-free even, but they don’t tell you that in advance, it’s just ‘does the game launch without the Steam API working or not’).
– Frost
Indeed, ineffably marvelous artists at Steam and Valve!
Just in case, it’s worth to mention that Steam DRM is opt-in by default. The developer is solely responsible for implementing and activating it.The Steam DRM wrapper by itself is not an anti-piracy solution. The Steam DRM wrapper protects against extremely casual piracy (i.e. copying all game files to another computer) and has some obfuscation, but it is easily removed by a motivated attacker…
The Steam wrapper can and should be used in combination with other DRM solutions. To do so, apply the Steam wrapper in compatibility mode first before applying any other DRM. Apply it first so that it does not interfere with the DRM solution. Compatibility mode will disable DRM capabilities of the wrapper.
Source: Public Steamworks Documentation [web-archive]
Won’t buy digital. Won’t buy key cards. Won’t buy blank disks.
Oh no… anyway… -goes back to steam, cause he never had a console past the PS2 and OG Xbox-
deleted by creator
Won’t be laughing long, they’re coming for all the ROM sites.
Buy your hard drives for hoarding now kids.
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they’re coming for all the ROM sites.
Physical media collectors proven correct once more.
Before you realize data on the disc is encoded digitally.
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.
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.
Only the pirates get the best copies
Physical cs. digital isn’t the problem though. It’s DRM.
This is where emulation and fitgirl will pick up the slack if I want to play anything.
Since when fitgirl is doing Playstation titles
What’s on PlayStation that isn’t on PC anymore?
Bloodborne, Gran Turismo, Infamous, The Order 1886
Playable on ShadPS4 emulator though. I played most of Bloodborne on my PC in 21:9 widescreen at 60 FPS using it. (didn’t finish the game yet)
I don’t think most modern releases work offline, as in the disc is just a key or only part of the install data. You need to get online for that extra install data or required day one patch.
Shit sucks.
I don’t even understand why there is any necessity for this. Was there even the possibility to run games you haven’t bought on a PS5?
I mean you can break into someone’s house and steal their games… and their playstation…
Right. Now you have to go back and steal their internet every month.
Might as well steal their key then too
And their girl
Recent breakthroughs in the hacking scene have been made against Sony’s current hypervisor layer of protection which has, historically, been the breaking point of getting unsigned code running on the consoles. So it’s only a matter of time before you may be able to pirate PS5 games.
So, exactly what they did with the Xbox One. Pre release everyone was so angry at the console having an online dependency, even for offline stuff, that they made a last-minute change and reduced it to mandatory check-ins.
Ah so in 25 years when I pull out my PS5 it’ll be useless cool cool cool
in 25 years you’ll be able to pirate and emulate whatever PS5 games you want.
This is contrary to my headcanon Cyberpunk capitalist-hell future where we all own nothing, and everything is a client and subscription-based, and 2018 kindles and mp3 players go for $700 both due to inflation and people finally realizing what they’d lost.
but sure, maybe, idk
On your watch.
Just buy all games again as remasters of remasters of remasters.
Lmao. My friend doesn’t have the money to pay for internet for months now. He does have a lot of games for his playstation. I went over and we had to hotspot trough my phone to be able to play GTA5 singleplayer.
Absolutely horrid. This kind of BS should fall under StopKillingGames where singleplayer games should be able to be played without an internet connection.
This is worse because there is actual malice involved.
Literally the kind of bullshit that Sony mocked Xbox for trying with the Xbox One when it and the PS4 came out. When legitimate concerns were brought up that some gamers were not able to connect their device to the internet regularly, for instance if they are in the military deployed overseas or on ships that play games on their downtime, or if they simply lose service for some time for financial issues, or if they have metered connections that they depend on for work, etc. they were told to just buy an older Xbox. Sony gave them hell in interviews after that. Here we are 13 years later, and Sony is busy retroactively doing that. Smh
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.
with every new console release, I’m more content with my PC
Sony made a fucking Xbox One. Exactly the version that made the internet crucify Microsoft. This is incredible.
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 was some Director not a software engineer.
Well, he’s a director now.
This is exactly what I thought when I read this. That funny little commercial they made back then isn’t so funny now.
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
On the very console that owes a huge deal of its initial success to the comparison with the intended XBOne bullshit.
Fucking hell.
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
FWIW according to an insider, this is a bug. People have been saying this menu is for PS+ or games that expire when your subscription runs out.
Incredibly stupid that Sony isn’t responding about this at all though.
Thank you! I’ve updated the post, and added more context. I am sorry, but it does not look like a bug.
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: https://xcancel.com/SmashJT/status/2048887546323808258#m
Oof, that’s crazy. What were they thinking?
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.
