Sony adds 30-day online checks for PS4 and PS5 digital games
Sony has begun rolling out a new DRM policy for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, requiring a 30-day online check-in to validate digital game licenses. According to reports, players who do not connect their console to the internet at least once every 30 days could temporarily lose access to their digital games.
Key Takeaways
- The new DRM policy applies to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
- Digital game licenses now require a 30-day online check-in to stay valid.
- Players who stay offline for more than 30 days could temporarily lose access to their digital games.
- Reports of the policy started appearing a few days before the article was published on 2026-04-28.
Why It Matters
Sony is tying access to digital PlayStation games to an ongoing online validation cycle, which changes how long offline use can work on PS4 and PS5. The move puts license enforcement directly into the console experience, not just the storefront. For the broader streaming and delivery stack, it is another example of access control moving deeper into client-side policy. What to watch next: whether Sony expands the rollout beyond the users already seeing the 30-day check-in notice.
Read full article at tomshardware.com
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