this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2026
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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]

---

...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]

---

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)

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[–] MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Huh, I vaguely recall micro$lop wanting something similar with their XB1, back in 2013.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

They were even worse. No physical media offine, either.

[–] Numenor@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Kids who aren't allowed to play during the school term are gonna log on their holidays to a very bad surprise

[–] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

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.

[–] LifeLikeLady@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

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.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] zoostation@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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.

[–] CaptainBasculin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 190 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Physical media collectors proven correct once more.

[–] Pikmoon@lemmy.world 84 points 3 days ago (3 children)

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.

[–] cookiecoookie@lemmy.world 66 points 3 days ago

Only the pirates get the best copies

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[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 128 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (9 children)

Sony made a fucking Xbox One. Exactly the version that made the internet crucify Microsoft. This is incredible.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 88 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

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

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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Ah yes, the BlizzActivision gambit. Best countered by selling your PlayStation and getting a PC.

[–] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] tuckerm@feddit.online 61 points 3 days ago

It's amazing how all of my Genesis, Playstation 1, and Dreamcast games still work, as will work as long as I have the game and console and they are in good condition. But that isn't guaranteed for a game I buy next week.

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 115 points 3 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 83 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

Ah so in 25 years when I pull out my PS5 it'll be useless cool cool cool

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[–] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 82 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

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 and 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 dame shit. Smh

[–] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] balsoft@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

I imagine after it expires it will trigger some flag somewhere and will never work again.

[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 50 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

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

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 51 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Perfect timing for the Steam Machine to come back. Shame about the ... everything else going on.

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[–] SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

laughs in Indie and Retro gaming

[–] NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 3 days ago

This is exactly the kind of crap So y lives to pull, and why after my PS4's disc drive died (and I found out they're paired to the motherboard and can't just be replaced) I stopped buying any more games, let Plus lapse, and repurchased everything on PC.

They all run better and can be modded there anyway. Fuck you Sony.

[–] ms_lane@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

Just like the original plan for Xbox One!

[–] slaacaa@lemmy.world 32 points 3 days ago

“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”

[–] popcar2@piefed.ca 45 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

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.

[–] artwork@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

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

[–] popcar2@piefed.ca 2 points 17 hours ago

Oof, that's crazy. What were they thinking?

[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 69 points 3 days ago (4 children)

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.

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[–] toxicbubble@lemmy.world 36 points 3 days ago

with every new console release, I'm more content with my PC

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

/me *Smugly looks on after having boycotted Sony for over 2 decades*

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago

Thanks for the warning. They don't want me to buy a PS, I get it.

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