Sony appears to be implementing a significant change to digital game purchases on the PlayStation Store that could potentially lock millions of gamers out of their libraries if they fail to connect their consoles to the internet regularly.
New Policy Details
Earlier this month, observant gamers noticed a policy update on the PlayStation Store indicating that PS5 owners would soon need to connect their console to the internet at least once every 30 days. This requirement is designed to validate the license of digital games. If the console does not connect within a month, the digital license is revoked, and the player will be unable to launch the game.
Crucially, this new rule appears to apply only to games purchased during and after April 2026. While Sony has not publicly confirmed the change, a message from the PlayStation Support chatbot seems to validate the new rules. It states: "Thank you for your interest in the 30-Day Timer that is being applied to all new purchases. Affected Content: Games purchased digitally after the March 2026 update. Offline Functionality: If the console does not connect to the internet within 30 days, the license expires and the game may refuse to launch until a connection is restored."
The message also confirms that players cannot bypass this restriction by setting their console as 'primary'.
Gamer Testing and Reactions
Several gamers have tested whether the policy is indeed in effect, and the results appear to confirm it. X user desgamesyt explained: "I’ve also been experimenting with this, and I can confirm that if your CMOS battery dies, any digital game with the timer becomes unplayable again, even if the console is set as the primary. This is a digital game I purchased with money yesterday. I didn’t claim it with PS Plus."
The change has sparked a conversation around game preservation and ownership. Concerns have been raised about what happens when Sony’s servers for the PlayStation 5 Store eventually go offline in the future. The last few years have seen the Nintendo Wii Shop channel and the Xbox 360 Marketplace shut down, resulting in the loss of hundreds of digital-only indie games.
Video game preservation is an increasingly hot topic, especially as most physical discs no longer contain the full game installations. Just this week, the 'Stop Killing Games' movement secured approval for a hearing in the European Parliament. The hearing notes state: "The main requirement of their proposal demands software firms to create offline functionality for their products or make their server code accessible as open source when games reach their end of life stage."
This policy change may affect how gamers purchase and play digital titles on PlayStation 5, raising important questions about the future of digital ownership.
