PS5 Confirmed to Be Affected by Game Expiry Issue, Sony Still Silent on DRM Worries

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Update #2 [Tue 28th Apr 2026, 12am]:

There was some uncertainty about whether Sony’s reported new DRM would impact the PS5. This DRM would supposedly require players to connect to the internet every 30 days to confirm they have legitimate copies of their games.

This is different from the PS4 because the game details don’t tell you when the software will stop working.

But Spawn Wave has put together a brilliant video, confirming this issue also applies to the PS5.

He reviewed four games: Saint Slayer and Vampire Crawlers, both bought digitally today, Crimson Desert, which he purchased digitally about a month ago, and Pragmata, a physical copy.

The four games launch without issues whether the console is connected to the internet or playing offline.

So, I was messing around trying to trick my PS5 Pro’s system clock, and I pulled out the CMOS battery. It totally messed things up! A couple of my games, Saint Slayer and Vampire Crawlers, wouldn’t even start. Luckily, Crimson Desert still loaded, although it showed a little lock icon. And surprisingly, Pragmata worked perfectly fine, like nothing even happened.

You’re seeing an error message that says, “Can’t use this content. We couldn’t connect to our servers to check your license. Please wait a bit and try again.”

All four games operate as usual when he reconnects to the Internet.

Okay, so things are a little concerning right now. It looks like Sony might have added a new kind of DRM, which is never a good sign. I’ve reached out to them for clarification, but I’m still waiting to hear back. Hopefully, they’ll explain what’s going on soon!

This is likely a software error that needs to be corrected to ensure long-term data protection. Currently, if your device’s battery fails and Sony’s servers are unavailable, any games or content you’ve bought could become unusable.

Just to be clear, your game licenses won’t be taken away if you don’t check in, and this issue only applies to games you’ve recently bought.

However, there’s enough evidence mounting now to demand a comment from the company.

Update #1 [Mon 27th Apr 2026, 1:15pm]:

We’re updating this article on Monday afternoon and are still awaiting a response from Sony regarding the reported DRM problem with the PS5 and PS4.

We already explained the issues at the beginning of the weekend, and there haven’t been any significant updates since. We’ve reached out to Sony for a statement, but haven’t heard back from them yet.

But a new video from Modded Warfare does provide a pretty good summary of the problem.

So, it looks like right now, this problem is only happening with brand new PS4 games. We’re still not sure if it’s affecting PS5 games too, and everyone’s waiting to find out!

The video demonstrates that new software needs to connect to PlayStation Network (PSN) every 30 days to confirm it’s legitimate. Removing the console’s CMOS battery causes these games to become unplayable, effectively locking them.

Connecting your console to the internet will reset the timer, but this creates worries about long-term access if Sony were to shut down its servers later on.

Honestly, I’m not sure if what’s happening is just a glitch in the game or if it’s some new way to stop people from copying it. We’ll probably have to wait for the company that made the game or console to tell us exactly what’s going on.

We’ll continue to push the company for a statement and will update when we get word back.

Many PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 owners are worried today because of claims that Sony has added a type of DRM (digital rights management) that would cause purchased games to stop working after 30 days.

It’s worth noting that the information we have so far isn’t consistent, the company hasn’t officially commented, and some reports indicate the problem might already be fixed.

Here’s what we know so far:

  • Some newly purchased PS4 games have started to display a validity period of 30 days.
  • Based on our testing, the issue only appears to be affecting PS4 games purchased within the last few weeks.
  • We’ve been unable to replicate the disclaimer on a PS5, although some on social media claim they’ve seen the message there as well.

We’ve seen reports that the timer restarts if you go online after it finishes, but we haven’t been able to verify this ourselves.

We’ve also seen reports saying your console license will be completely canceled if you don’t connect it to the internet before it expires, but we haven’t been able to verify this. If it’s true, it would likely be illegal.

The Issue First Emerged in Late March

Rumors about this began appearing as early as late March, but they only recently gained traction on social media.

A comparable problem happened with the PS3 and PS Vita in 2022, but it was successfully fixed.

A game preservation account called Destruction Games says that if the battery in your console dies or is taken out, certain games won’t start if they check for a valid date and time.

You may recall there was a big hullabaloo around this in 2021, which Sony actually fixed.

The CMOS battery keeps track of the console’s date and time, which is necessary for verifying earned trophies. As with all batteries, it doesn’t last forever and will eventually need to be replaced.

Replacing this part is simple, but older PS4 software used to require a connection to PlayStation Network to confirm the correct date and time after the replacement.

People worried that if the PlayStation Network ever shut down in the future, this verification process would no longer work, making all games unplayable.

Sony fixed this problem with update 9.00, so it’s surprising to see it reappear after five years.

It Could Be a Bug

Some Reddit users have noticed that a validity period for their games, which was visible until recently, has now disappeared.

The website Does It Play, which tests if software works without an internet connection, says it received information from a source claiming the problem is not intentional.

So, from what I’m hearing, Sony messed something up while trying to patch a security issue. Apparently, they’ve been aware of the confusing menu system for a while now, but didn’t think it was a big enough problem to fix right away.

Wait for More Information from Sony

Our view on this is that it’s very likely an error.

We recognize people are understandably worried about this issue, but the reports we’re getting are all over the place, suggesting it’s not a deliberate problem. As we explained, some users are experiencing an error while others aren’t, and it seems to only affect recently purchased software on PlayStation 4.

If it turns out this is a new form of digital rights management, we’ll be sure to point it out. However, since the company hasn’t said anything and there’s a lot of inaccurate information spreading online, we ask everyone to remain calm and wait for more official details.

In the meantime, we’ll contact Sony for comment and update if and when we hear back.

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2026-04-28 01:39