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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]

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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)

    • Pikmoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      986·
      10 days ago

      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
        20·
        10 days ago

        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
          8·
          10 days ago

          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.

    • deranger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      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.

  • rtxn@lemmy.worldEnglish
    137·
    10 days ago

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

    • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
      951·
      10 days ago

      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
      20·
      10 days ago

      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
      19·
      10 days ago

      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
      19·
      10 days ago

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

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.worldEnglish
        25·
        10 days ago

        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
      8·
      10 days ago

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

  • x00z@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1261·
    10 days ago

    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.

      • Butterphinger@lemmy.zipEnglish
        11·
        9 days ago

        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

  • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.worldEnglish
    88·
    10 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

  • tuckerm@feddit.onlineEnglish
    66·
    10 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.

    • otp@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      PS1 and DC games (especially the DC games) will deteriorate. CD-based games are already dying to disc rot.

      • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        8 days ago

        First of all, this disc rot thing isnt really true if you havent been storing them in an outdoor warehouse. That issue mostly pertains to burned discs. Optical media lasts a very very long time.

        People say vhs tapes are going bad as well yet I have hundreds that were stored in a damp non climate controlled garage and they work the same as 20 years ago.

        The bigger issue is the lasers in the drives. unfixable and no replacement.

        The solution is SD cards, and networked play (for ps2 with ethernet )

        If that fails, we have emulation forever. Get an adaptor for the og controllers and your golden.

        I can fit the entire DC library on 1 SD card. Mind blowing. Truly golden age of gaming right now.

        • otp@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          8 days ago

          Agreed! I think it’s not uncommon for old games to be stored in places like garages, attics, or storage lockers though, all of which could lack climate control or be almost anti-climate control.

          Or maybe there are a lot of people who’ve got scratched discs. Either way, I’ve seen articles with anecdotes of it.

          • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            2·
            8 days ago

            True. People treat discs horribly. Since I was little ive always treated then with the utmost care, same with records. Never understood kids scratching discs. It helps I’m probably autistic.

            My discs are pristine.

  • eleijeep@piefed.socialEnglish
    59·
    10 days ago

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

  • BackgrndNoize@lemmy.worldEnglish
    56·
    9 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

  • popcar2@piefed.caEnglish
    513·
    10 days ago

    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.

    • edgemaster72@lemmy.worldEnglish
      792·
      10 days ago

      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.

    • warm@kbin.earth
      242·
      10 days ago

      Sony have never been technically competent. It’s why their online service is breached/down seemingly every other year.

      • aesthelete@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        10 days ago

        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.

    • Artwork@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      8 days ago

      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

  • NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    42·
    10 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.

    • lath@piefed.socialEnglish
      7·
      10 days ago

      Find ps4s that weren’t updated to the latest because as i understood it, they’ve essentially bricked its modding capabilities with a patch.

      • lyralycan@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        13·
        10 days ago

        And that is why turning off automatic updates is sometimes necessary, and a must for games, consoles and mobiles. Because the anti consumer practices by corporate shitlords are far worse than a low chance of being hacked through a “security flaw”.

      • Areldyb@lemmy.worldEnglish
        13·
        10 days ago

        My PS4’s been collecting dust for a while, so I’m sure its firmware is out of date. Time to see what the homebrew scene is all about!

        Edit: we can run Linux now? Oh this is gonna be fun

      • forestbeasts@pawb.socialEnglish
        1·
        8 days ago

        Like, something beyond the usual “the currently available exploits were fixed in the latest release”? Or just that? Because the currently available exploits being fixed in the latest patch is pretty normal. Sucks, but that seems to be the arrangement they’ve worked out instead of Sony suing the exploit finders for letting people use their consoles the way they like. (Yeah, shit’s fucked.)

        – Frost

    • Druid@lemmy.zipEnglish
      5·
      10 days ago

      The latest PS4 jailbreak goes up to like FW 13.50 and there’s a plethora of different methods to choose from - all of them pretty easy to do at home with minimal preparation. There’s even tools you can purchase that do the jailbreak for you, automatically.

      Have a look at Modded Warfare’s channel on YT if you’re interested. He’s doing regular updates on the modding scene and has lots of good, detailed tutorials to follow along.

    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
      52·
      9 days ago

      No.

      They clowned on Xbox for wanting to lock physical games to a single account/console.

      The second hand market no longer means shit because Game Pass and PlayStation Plus exist.

        • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          8 days ago

          From what I remember, the online check-in was never actually implemented, or it was removed right before the console released. But they were talking about it and the backlash was so strong that they actually made the right call and removed it.

          • Kindness is Punk@lemmy.caEnglish
            3·
            8 days ago

            Correct they chose not to over the backlash, but even then backing out of it didn’t stop Sony for including no online required in their marketing