Games@lemmy.worldbyArtwork@lemmy.world
2 days

[PlayStation] [DRM] Licenses now requires an online check-in every 30 days.

xcancel.com English

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]

[Image] "Don't Starve Together" (PlayStation)

102
    Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon)
    xcancel.com
    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.
    • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3 hours

      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?

    • RaoulDook@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4 hours

      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.

    • MidsizedSedan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9 hours

      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.

    • Numenor@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8 hours

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

    • potoooooooo ✅️@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7 hours

      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.worldEnglish
        5 hours

        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.

    • Joanie Parker@lemmy.worldEnglish
      19 hours

      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.

    • radiofreebc@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23 hours

      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.

    • stupidcasey@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1 day

      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.mlEnglish
        9 hours

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

    • Etterra@discuss.onlineEnglish
      1 day

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

    • tuckerm@feddit.onlineEnglish
      2 days

      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.

      • Pikmoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2 days

        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.

        • thingsiplay@lemmy.mlEnglish
          2 days

          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).

          • Pikmoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2 days

            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.

    • BackgrndNoize@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1 day

      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

    • rtxn@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2 days

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

      • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2 days

        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.

      • halcyoncmdr@piefed.socialEnglish
        2 days

        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.

      • brsrklf@jlai.luEnglish
        2 days

        On the very console that owes a huge deal of its initial success to the comparison with the intended XBOne bullshit.

        Fucking hell.

      • SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org
        2 days

        And the whole board of directors nodded and clapped their hands. Nobody understood what it was about, but did it anyway.

        • Telodzrum@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2 days

          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.

      • human.encoded@lemmy.zipEnglish
        2 days

        This is exactly what I thought when I read this. That funny little commercial they made back then isn’t so funny now.