Sony has addressed the PS5’s controversial Xbox One-like DRM feature
No 30-day check-ins after all
🤔 Sony has clarified the allegations that it introduced an Xbox One-like DRM feature on the PS5 after recent criticism
🤷♂️ A spokesperson said that no further checks for a digital license were required after a one-time online check-in when the game is purchased
⏰ It had previously been feared that Sony was introducing 30-day check-ins for digital games as part of some strict DRM
🙏 This echoes the large backlash Microsoft faced with the Xbox One, which was originally going to ship with very strict DRM, before it reversed the decision
Sony has addressed the PS5’s potential Xbox One-like DRM feature, which appeared to have been added in a recent firmware update.
Many PlayStation fans feared that Sony had introduced a check-in after a March 2026 firmware update, which added a 30-day valid license timer for newly-purchased PS4 games, and affects PS5 titles, as per game preservation source ‘Does it play?’ on X.
After a lot of backlash from fans in the immediate aftermath, Sony has addressed concerns with a representative telling Game File that “players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual” and that a “one-time online check is required after purchase to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are needed”.
The news about 30-day license check-ins alarmed game preservationists and PlayStation fans over concerns that digital games may become unplayable if a console is offline for more than the requisite time.
Players who tested the theory found that setting a PS5 or PS4 as the “primary” console for a game (which is a Sony-authorized way to establish whether someone has the necessary digital rights to play a game or not) didn’t override this 30-day limit. This, therefore, led folks to believe that monthly DRM check-ins could be the new normal for PlayStation users.
Sony has since confirmed that this isn’t the case, but hasn’t said why the new rule was introduced in the first place. Some fans, including a helpful commenter on my previous post, theorized that it was to prevent exploits of Sony’s 14-day window for digital game returns, whereby gamers could buy a game, then go offline, nab the licence ID, then go back online and ask for a refund, and then essentially get the game for free. Sony hasn’t confirmed or denied if this is the case, though.
It had been feared that Sony wouldn’t immediately respond to such criticisms so quickly, especially after it had taken them weeks to deal with a prior issue with the console.
Several years ago, there was a hardware issue with the console’s internal clock – if the PS5’s internal CR2032 battery failed, then it would kill the machine’s internal clock, rendering games unplayable. Sony did fix this through system updates, although it took them several weeks to even admit the issue and offer fixes. However, ‘Does it play?’ on X believes this new restriction basically brings this problem back.
It had been posited that a 30-day check-in would have operated in a similar manner to Microsoft’s original intentions for the Xbox One. Microsoft originally wanted to ship the console with strict DRM involving daily internet check-ins to determine the legitimacy of games, although after intense backlash, it backed down and reversed its decision.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.