‘You Can Play Your Purchased Games As Usual’: Sony Breaks Silence on PS5, PS4 Game Expiry DRM

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On April 30th, 2026, Sony released a statement addressing the recent problem where games were unexpectedly expiring on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. This comes after nearly five days with no official word from the company.

GameSpot was the publication lucky enough to get a response from the platform holder. It reads:

You’ll still be able to play the games you’ve bought. We just need to verify your game licenses with a quick, one-time online check. After that, you won’t need to check in again.

As a fan, I’m still a little confused about the check-in process. I’m not sure if we have to wait two weeks after buying tickets, or if we can do it right away. It’s a little unclear!

According to the company representative, you only need an initial internet connection for the games to function normally, even when you’re offline after that.

Since this mainly concerns games you download online, it doesn’t seem like a problem at all.

We’ll keep you updated on this story as it develops. From the beginning, we advised being careful because there was a lot of inaccurate information circulating, and much of it has now been disproven.

We believe Sony could have prevented a lot of the issues by releasing this statement sooner.

A promising theory from ResetEra user Andshrew is gaining traction and could explain the problems some people are experiencing with Sony’s DRM. This is Update #4, as of Wednesday, April 29th, 2026, at 12:00 AM.

Although the research appears sound and has been supported by the preservation group Does It Play, we’re still awaiting official confirmation from the manufacturer. Therefore, don’t consider this information as definitive proof.

The idea is that this is a short-term digital rights management measure meant to stop some customers from finding a way around the system.

Andshrew’s research shows that when you buy a digital game, it grants you a temporary offline license for 30 days.

After you buy the game, it becomes fully and permanently playable offline once you connect to PlayStation Network (PSN) within 14 days. After that connection, you won’t need an internet connection to play.

The concern is that this request falls outside of Sony’s 14-day refund period. Sony typically offers refunds for digital software only if it hasn’t been used.

I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about people finding a loophole with how refunds work. Apparently, some folks are downloading games, disconnecting their consoles from the internet right away, getting a refund, and then basically keeping the game for free! It seems like this new system they’re rolling out is a way to stop people from doing that.

This explains a lot, including why some users have recently noticed the 30-day expiration timer vanishing.

We’re curious how many people were using this trick, and whether it’s causing Sony more trouble than it’s worth.

If this is true, we should be able to confirm it in the next few weeks. However, it would be much simpler if the manufacturer just made a public statement.

Here’s how it works with digital game licenses: when you buy a new game, it’s initially licensed for offline play for 30 days. If you connect to PlayStation Network anytime after the first 14 days of owning the game, the license becomes permanent, meaning you can continue playing offline forever.

Update #3 [Tue 28th Apr 2026, 12:30pm]:

We’re deep into Tuesday now and still no comment from Sony on its reported DRM issues.

We’ve confirmed that recently purchased software on both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 is being incorrectly flagged with a 30-day expiry. It’s currently unclear whether this is a bug or an intended feature.

However, a slew of statements from customer support have started circulating on social media.

Some evidence suggests the 30-day check-in was deliberately added after an update in March 2026, while other information isn’t as clear.

It’s always a good idea to be cautious when reading responses from customer support. While the information might seem straightforward, keep in mind that you could be interacting with a chatbot, or an agent who doesn’t have the expertise to help with complex issues.

Once again, we’ll push for a statement from the platform holder and will update when we hear back.

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

Some people were unsure if the PlayStation 5 would be impacted by a rumored new security measure from Sony. This measure 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.

To trick the console’s time verification system, he took out the CMOS battery from his PS5 Pro. After doing this, the games Saint Slayer and Vampire Crawlers wouldn’t start at all. Crimson Desert did launch, although it displayed a lock icon, and Pragmata played normally.

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.

We have several concerns, but the biggest one is that Sony appears to have added a new type of digital rights management (DRM) technology. We’ve reached out to Sony for comment and are awaiting their reply.

This issue is likely a bug that needs to be resolved to ensure long-term data preservation. Currently, if your device’s CMOS battery fails and Sony’s servers are unavailable, your purchased content would be lost.

Just to be clear, your game licenses won’t be taken away if you don’t check in, and this issue only affects 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 earlier this weekend, and there haven’t been any significant updates since then. We’ve reached out to Sony for a statement, but haven’t heard back yet.

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

Currently, this problem seems to only affect brand new PS4 games. It’s still unclear if PS5 games are affected too.

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, as they can no longer be verified.

Connecting your console to the internet will reset the timer, but this creates a problem for long-term game access – if Sony were to shut down its servers, your progress could be lost.

We don’t yet know if this is a mistake or a deliberate attempt to restrict access, and we’ll need a statement from the platform owner to be sure.

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

Okay, so there’s a lot of panic going around right now in the PlayStation community. Apparently, some people are worried about a new type of DRM Sony might be adding. The big concern is that our games could actually expire after 30 days, even if we legally own them! It’s causing a huge uproar, and everyone’s trying to figure out if it’s true or not.

Okay, so here’s the deal: the info I’m seeing about this problem is all over the place, honestly. Plus, the company hasn’t said anything about it yet, and some people are even saying it’s already fixed, which is super confusing. I’m trying to figure out what’s actually going on, but it’s hard with all the mixed signals.

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 runs out, but we haven’t been able to verify this ourselves.

We’ve also seen reports saying your console license will be completely cancelled if you don’t connect it to the internet before it expires, but we haven’t been able to verify this claim. If it’s true, it could be a legal issue.

The Issue First Emerged in Late March

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

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

So, I was reading up on game preservation, and this account called Destruction Games on X (formerly Twitter) said something pretty worrying. Apparently, if the little CMOS battery in your console dies or you take it out, any games that check if they’re still ‘valid’ won’t load up anymore. It’s like they think they’re expired or something! Definitely something to keep in mind if you’re a retro gamer.

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

Okay, so the little CMOS battery in my console? It’s basically what keeps track of the date and time, but it’s super important for verifying my Trophy unlocks. It’s a battery, though, so it doesn’t last forever – eventually, it’ll die and stop working. It’s kinda annoying, but totally normal.

Replacing this part is simple, but older PS4 software used to need 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, a necessary connection process would become impossible, making all games unplayable.

Sony fixed this problem in 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 display showing how long a game was valid recently disappeared from their accounts.

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

According to sources, Sony unintentionally caused a problem while addressing a security flaw. They were aware of the confusing user interface, but didn’t consider it a high priority issue.

Wait for More Information from Sony

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

We know some people are 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 seeing an error message, while others aren’t. It seems to only be happening with new software purchases on the PS4.

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

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

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2026-04-30 01:40