UPDATE: a new theory doing the rounds may have explained what’s going on, and why Sony isn’t addressing it directly.
Andreshrew on ResetEra seems to have been the first to bring up the theory, so I’m going to base this on what they posted.
I’m going to offer the gist of his argument so you can get the point. Click above to read the full explanation.
Basically, when you buy a game it automatically installs a licence file with an unlimited time perod, which is used to check that you own the game. Now, though, it’s installing a 30-day license.
Here’s where things get interesting: Andrewshrew bought a game on April 9. He turned on his PS4 on April 21 and noted a 30-day license was installed for the game as soon as it connected online. He then installed the game on April 25 and the information screen confirmed he had 26 more days to play the game offline. However, 30 minutes after installation, the licence changed from 30-days to indefinete, the same license type games were previously coming with.
Andreshrew bought and installed a second game on April 27 and says the license for that one is a 30-day license which has not changed.
So, what gives? The theory Andreshrew puts forth is that games are getting the 30-day license replaced with an indefinete one around 15 or 16 days after the initial point when the license is installed. Why? Because this puts them outside of Sony’s 14-day refund policy for games that have not yet been installed. He postulates that people found a loophole where they would buy a game on jailbroken PS4s, get the indefinate license and then refund the game, allowing them to carry on playing. This change to the licensing system could be Sony’s way of dealing with the loophole, either permanently or temporarily.
If this is correct, it also explains why Sony hasn’t publically addressed the problem – Sony never talks about bugs and loopholes, simply because they won’t want to draw attention to them.
ORIGINAL STORY: I haven’t been covering this story because it looked like a simple error at first, one that’s actually popped up several times in the past and been fixed on every occasion. But as the story develops, that might not be the case anymore. So, what the hell is going on with the PlayStation 30-day license issue? And why hasn’t Sony clarified it?
Before we delve into how this whole sordid tale began, let’s talk about what’s happening right now. The situation is that some recently bought PS4 and PS5 digital games appear to require an online license check about once every 30 days, and if you stay offline beyond that window the game may stop launching until the console reconnects to PSN; older purchases do not seem to be affected. Sony still has not made a clear public statement, but support chats and automated responses have reportedly told users the 30-day verification is intentional, which means the practical impact is mainly on people who play offline, travel, or have unreliable internet.
Keep in mind, the support chats may not even be a reliable source of information as they are often just chatbots. Indeed, at the top of the pictured chat, it clearly says “chat assistant” and those things can be….unreliable at best.
That’s why I also wanted to include this X user’s conversation with a real human support agent who says: “At this time, there is no requirement for players to re-authenticate their digital purchases every 30 days.”
Until we hear anything official from Sony, nobody is completely sure what is happening or why.
The Whole Story.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? In late March, rumours began circulating that a PlayStation software update had added “valid periods” fields to newly purchased PS4 titles, along with a 30 day countdown – the implication being that after that period the game would not work unless it could reconnect to the Internet to verify. It looked like some sort of 30-day licence, but Sony hadn’t announced anything .
The issue became more mainstream in early April whe YouTuber Lance McDonald posted about it on X.
From there, the debate began. Instantly, people claimed that Sony had implemented a horrible new DRM system akin to the one Xbox One was going to have before the backlash forced Microsoft to scrap it. Other people pointed out that similiar things had appeared before on Sony machines and were usually errors, bits of license tied to other things etc.
Some intrepid folk began experimenting to trick the system into thinking 30 days had past by removing the CMOS battery and taking the console offline after buying some new games. SpawnWave did a great video about this, first firing up some new games (Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege, Pragmata, Vampire Crawlers and Crimson Desert) while online, and then going offline and removing the CMOS battery. This defaulted the console’s clock all the way back to 2011.
Saint Slayer and Vampire Survivors refused to play, instead displaying this error message: “Can’t use this content. Can’t connect to the server to verify your license. Wait a while, then try again.”
Crimson Desert displayed a lock symbol next to its name, but otherwise worked normally. Pragmata seemed completely uneffected. However, it’s worth nothing Pragmata was a physical game, which changes things quite a bit.
SpawnWave also tried adjusting the clock manually to match the current date and time, but this did not effect the results.
It’s worth remembering that these tests are not definitive. Removing the CMOS battery can cause problems with any system, although Sony updated their machines years ago so that if the battery was removed or died, games would still work.
Shortly after this, people began contacting Sony’s customer support page for PlayStation and asking what’s going on. As you can see in the tweet near the start of the article, the customer service reply seemed to verify this new licensing system is genuine.
Confusingly, preservation-focused website DoesItPlay had this to say: “Received word from an anonymous insider. The Sony DRM issue is unintentional. From what we gathered, Sony accidentally broke something while fixing an exploit. They’ve known about the confusing UI for a while, but didn’t see it as urgent. Hoping for a clarifying statement now.”
This brings us to today. We still have not heard anything from Sony either confirming or denying the evidence, leaving users annoyed.
If we look at logically, even if this is real the vast majority of users will never even know since they are connected almost all of the time. It’ll never be an issue for them. But that’s also beside the point: any new form of DRM is a major move and shouldn’t be implemented stealthily. And it creates problems for future preservation, or for certain types of people. For example, a lot of military folk aboard ships will take their PlayStation with them to play offline. If PlayStation ever goes offline, you’ll be left unable to ever access those games again. It’s hard to imagine that situation actually occuring and the system could be removed prior to a shutdown, but it’s still a possibility.
On the other hand, this whole mess may be nothing. A complete dud, just like the one that happened during the early PS4 era where it was discovered that the CMOS battery failing would render games unplayable. Sony fixed that issue.
One thing is very clear, though: Sony should officially address this, because it’s a PR hit they don’t need.
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