cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46052675
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)
Is the license lost forever if you don't do the check ins?
My guess would be no. I think this is effectively a "log in to play this game again" check that will happen if you are disconnected from the service for a month, basically.
Honestly, I would prefer they adopt a game-key-card approach if this is really the direction they're going to take. At least a physical key would make more sense than a digital key that needs constant online connection for validity.
That's what a disc does on modern consoles.
Granted, sure, but they don't even need the data (or a disc, for that matter) and that would still beat forcing a login every 30 days (at least IMO)