Update | Latest PlayStation update adds problematic DRM to some digital games
April 25, 2026 14:13 GMT Update
@DoesItPlay1 has heard from an anonymous insider within Sony, who say that the DRM issue was 'unintentional'. Apparently, it resulted from Sony's attempt to fix an exploit. Given the sensitive nature of the mistake, Sony should ideally issue an official statement soon.
Edited article continues as follows:
The latest PlayStation 4 update has apparently added new DRM to digital titles. YouTuber Modded Warfare spotted the changes on a PS4 game purchased on April 14, which showed a Valid Period (Start) and (End) times in the 'information' tab. Essentially, any games purchased digitally on consoles with the March 2026 update can be played offline for 30 days. Older titles, installed before the update was rolled out, have not been affected. Whether or not that will change if you uninstall/reinstall older games remains to be seen. The above change, combined with age verification for some PSN features, portrays the PlayStation brand in an even worse light.
After that, the license has to be 'renewed' by connecting to the internet. X user DoesItPlay1 has observed that the limit also applies to PlayStation 5 games, but the license start/end date isn't shown in the 'information' tab. Instead, the game throws an error code and fails to load. And no, marking the console as 'Primary' doesn't help either. The above change effectively forces users to go online every 30 days just to access games they already own. Some X users are skeptical about the change, stating they have not seen the above changes. DoesItPlay1 promised to investigate the matter further, and we should know more once it has concluded.
While it shouldn't affect most of the playerbase, anyone with a console in remote areas with spotty/no internet connectivity is effectively out of luck. However, the real ticking time bomb is PSN servers. At some point, Sony will consider PS4/PS5 servers to be dead weight and shut them, effectively leaving console owners with no way to access their own games.
From Sony's point of view, this move will greatly help curb privacy, as malicious actors could load their games on numerous consoles, take said consoles offline, and let multiple users access what is effectively the same copy of a game indefinitely. It will also jeopardise the jailbreaking scene, which often relies on offline content to look for vulnerabilities. Thankfully, initiatives such as 'Stop Killing Games' should help restore some semblance of ownership in an era that overwhelmingly favours renting.
All in all, such moves further reinforce the need for physical games, which are becoming increasingly rare in these tumultuous times. It doesn’t help that many titles are accompanied by gargantuan day-one patches, and some of them don’t even have the whole game on disc.
Source(s)
Modded Warfare on YouTube
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