PlayStation fans appear to have figured out Sony’s mysterious addition of a 30-day licence for new digital PS4 and PS5 purchases, something that has prompted concern that the company has introduced a fresh form of DRM that could limit access to players with offline consoles, or whose machine’s internal battery had died.
Sony is still yet to acknowledge its change, leaving PlayStation owners in the dark about what exactly is going on. Requests for information from PlayStation customer support representatives have provided them with mixed messages, while Sony is yet to respond to IGN’s requests for comment.
In the meantime, PlayStation fans have been attempting to figure out what the new 30-day timer means — and now a flurry of similar experiences seem to have worked it out, backed by noted game preservation resource Does it play?.
In a nutshell, the 30-day licence introduced for new digital PS4 and PS5 games appears to be a temporary measure, that then gets replaced with a permanent licence after 14 days.
As soon as players connect their console online after 14 days, and the valid purchase of the game is verified, the 30-day timer is removed. Alternatively, if the purchase cannot be verified, the game continues to be playable for the remainder of the 30-day window before access is denied.
The situation, deduced by Resetera forum user andshrew after various tests, appears to be an attempt by Sony to close a loophole where users with hacked consoles could refund a game but keep access to it. Sony’s quick fix essentially makes this harder — meaning consoles need to verify a game is legitimately playable after the company’s 14-day digital refund window expires.
Further evidence of the situation has been provided by other PlayStation fans on social media, who have since tested recent games older than 14 days — and found they still work even when offline and without the console’s internal battery. This was a key concern about the change — that active, ongoing DRM could permanently block access if you were offline for more than 30 days, or if your console battery died. Thankfully, after the 14 day refund period is over, this no longer appears to be a concern.
Of course, all of this is just detective work by fans until Sony says something itself about its changes, or how it will impact fans. In the meantime, fans say its silence has prompted unnecessary concern.
“Discussing the new PlayStation DRM is getting exhausting,” Does it play? concluded. “One part of the internet assumes the world is going under. Another turned it into a console war thing. And some defend/deny it with their lives for no reason. All this turmoil because Sony sticks its head in the sand.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
