Engadget
Rumors that Sony’s new digital rights management (DRM) system might check PlayStation game licenses every 30 days appear not to be true. Despite screenshots posted on X last week showing an apparent “Valid Period” length, newly-purchased digital games will receive a perpetual license after a single online check after purchase, Sony told Game File.
“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual,” a representative told Game File. “A one-time online check is required after purchase to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are needed.”
News about 30-day license check-ins alarmed PlayStation console owners and preservationists over concerns that games might become unplayable if a system is offline for more than a month. Players testing the theory found that setting a PS4 or PS5 to be the “primary” console for a game (a Sony-authorized way to establish digital rights) wasn’t overriding the 30-day limit. That in turn led gamers to believe that monthly DRM checks could become the norm.
Fortunately, Sony confirmed that no such checks would occur, though it didn’t say why it put the timer in place. Some gamers theorized it may have been done to prevent exploits of Sony’s 14-day window for digital game returns (Engadget has reached out for comment). The whole episode brought back bad memories from the 2013 Xbox One launch when Microsoft announced that the console would do daily DRM check-ins, then reversed course after a huge backlash.
