With recent reports indicating that Sony may have introduced a new DRM check to PS4 and PS5 games, the company has offered some clarification on the matter. While players had been reporting the need to go online once every 30 days for a DRM check for their games, in a statement to Game File, a representative from Sony has said that the company had introduced a new system that requires just one online check before the player is given a perpetual license for a digital copy of a game.
“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual,” said the representative. “A one-time online check is required after purchase to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are needed.”
The DRM was first noticed last week by YouTuber Lance MacDonald, who started spreading awareness about a supposed 30-day timer on PS4 and PS5 games. This prompted many players to run their own tests by, for example, removing the console’s CMOS batteries or remaining offline despite the timer ticking down. This led to the discovery that setting a PS4 or PS5 as a “primary” console for a PSN account also had no effect on the timer.
ResetEra forum user Andshrew discovered this week that digital copies of PS4 and PS5 games bought after the middle of April get a 30-day timer. On performing the online check within the 30-day limit, the timer is seemingly removed, replaced with a perpetual license. The system is believed to be related to Sony’s 14-day time limit for players who might want refunds on digitally purchased games.
Due to Sony’s silence on the matter, the timer had been considered by many players to be a bug, with some bringing up comparisons to a similar incident that happened back in 2022. The system seems to have been introduced with the March 2026 firmware update for PS5.
In the meantime, a report from last month has indicated that Sony might also be testing out dynamic prices for digital copies of games. Examples of this were discovered in the PlayStation Store listing for Stellar Blade across two accounts, where one was offered the title at a 70 percent discount, while the other was offered a 43 percent discount.
The factors taken into consideration with these dynamic prices remain unknown, but speculation has indicated that the age of a PlayStation account seems to play a key role. Average play time and most-recent login time might also be considered when the PlayStation Store offers a discount.
Testing at the time had indicated that the dynamic pricing system only seems to apply to PS5-exclusive games, at least for now. This would indicate that Sony is simply testing the system out before eventually giving similar options to third-party developers and publishers.
Sony is also likely hard at work on its next-generation console. Rumors have indicated that the PS6 will be around 10 times faster than the PS5 in ray tracing performance, which will result in 3.10 times the frame rate. While a home console and handheld are expected to be announced, there don’t seem to be any plans for a low-priced PS6 “Lite”.
