PlayStation's New DRM Policy Might Reportedly Lock You Out of Your Games
The need to refresh licenses every month worries players.
Unrest has spread among PlayStation users after an unpleasant discovery: Sony added a new DRM (Digital Rights Management) feature, which locks you out of your games purchased starting April 2026 after 30 days until you update the license online.
"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," said Lance McDonald, who was one of the first to notice the change.
It's not as drastic as it sounds: you get to keep your games once you go online, and the system proves the licenses are real. However, players are understandably unhappy hearing this reminder that the games they paid for don't belong to them, not really.
While Sony keeps its silence, more reports confirming the information surface online. YouTube channel MODDED WARFARE released a video about the issue and shared possible reasons for the change.
Most likely, Sony wants to prevent jailbreaking – bypassing PlayStation's security measures to run unauthorized apps and games – and thus fight piracy.
Some believe it's just a bug, and DoesItPlay?, a community "dedicated to game preservation and customer rights, allegedly "received word from an anonymous insider. The Sony DRM issue is unintentional. From what we gathered, Sony accidentally broke something while fixing an exploit. They've known about the confusing UI for a while, but didn't see it as urgent."
Whether or not it's a bug, tests show that once the time is up, you won't be able to play the games bought after April 2026 without first authorizing them.
Sony files a lot of patents, and at least one of them seems connected to the new DRM system. In 2021, the company introduced System and Method for Streaming Game Video, discussing cloud gaming as "elimination of piracy." Perhaps some of its features were used in the countdown that enraged players.
You might not be a pirate, but this is just another reminder of how easily players can lose access to the things they buy. That's why it's important for initiatives like Stop Killing Games to succeed.
Don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter and join our 80 Level Talent platform, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
Are you a fan of what we do here at 80 Level? Then make sure to set us as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our content in your feed.
