PlayStation users online claim that Sony has added digital rights management to the latest PS4 firmware updates and The PS5. The changes will reportedly require PlayStation console owners to connect to the Internet every 30 days to continue playing their digital games. However, it remains to be confirmed whether this is intentional or just a bug.
The first sighting of this possible DRM came from Modded Hardware, a homebrew and console YouTuber, as first reported by Kotaku on Saturday. The creator uploaded a video showing an updated “Info” screen for digital games on PS4, which features a “Valid Time” with a 30-day counter. If the console doesn’t go online to check the license with Sony’s servers during that time, the report says, the games won’t be playable until the console goes online.
The worst DRM has now been ported to all PS4 and PS5 digital games. Every digital game you buy now needs to go online every 30 days. If you buy a digital game and do not connect your console to the Internet for 30 days, your license will be revoked. pic.twitter.com/23gU16CIkx
— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) April 25, 2026
Jonathan Downey, host of the Spawn Wave YouTube channel, tested his own on PS5, as displaying the “Info” screen on PS5 games did not show the same “Valid time” information as on PS4.
For his test, in a video uploaded on Monday, Downey removed the PS5 CMOS battery, which is the lithium battery on the console’s motherboard that stores data such as the current time and date. With the battery removed, he tried to play a game he had purchased digitally weeks ago, but received a message saying it was unplayable.
this seems bad pic.twitter.com/cd7WwH6TIt
— Gene Park (@GenePark) April 28, 2026
There is speculation in the PlayStation homebrew community that this change was a way for Sony to sneak in a code that will disrupt modders. Online logging is a common strategy against modified hardware, as it prevents illegally downloaded games from being played on the console unless it is connected to the Internet, and starts the process of downloading and installing the latest firmware.
Users on X sent their messages through PlayStation support agents. It seems that these agents are giving different explanations, some saying the problem is a bug and others a feature. However, PlayStation Support agents are not the authority on all PlayStation issues, so their answers are representative of the entire organization.
Sony released a statement to Gamespot on Wednesday, clarifying that the change to the digital game license had been made, but was not intended as a form of DRM.
“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual,” a Sony spokesperson told Gamespot. “A one-time online check is required to verify the game’s license, after which no one needs to log in.”
A poster at X summarizes the theory about this new license test. It appears that the exploit occurred during a small window between the purchase of a digital game and when it can be returned. Someone, who may have a modified hardware, can buy the game digitally from Sony and get a 30-day temporary license for it.
With their modified hardware, that license will remain on their device even though they request a refund from Sony, and from there, all they have to do is download the game via other means onto their hardware and have the “official” free game. The proposed new process needs to be logged within 14 days of purchase, to convert a temporary license to a permanent one, which will not require re-entering the Internet.
