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.

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)

    • Pikmoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      524·
      15 hours 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
        9·
        14 hours 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
          3·
          9 hours 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.