PlayStation Adds 30-Day Online Check to Digital Games
PlayStation adds 30-day online checks for digital games moving forward. Youtuber Modded Warfare and Twitch streamer and modder, Lance McDonald, both noticed this new addition after a recent 13.20 update for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
According to the two sources, any game purchased after March 2026 now has a 30-day timer applied to it. If players don’t play the game for 30 days, they will have to connect their console online to renew the license, which will reset the timer for 30 days again.
Hugely terrible DRM has now been rolled out to all PS4 and PS5 digital games. Every digital game you buy now requires an online check-in every 30 days. If you buy a digital game and don't connect your console to the internet for 30 days, your license will be removed. pic.twitter.com/23gU16CIkx
— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) April 25, 2026
Note, this does not mean you will lose the game. This just means you won’t be able to play it until you log back online to perform a validation check.
McDonald made a series of posts on X about the situation, saying, “Hugely terrible DRM has now been rolled out to all PS4 and PS5 digital games. Every digital game you buy now requires an online check-in every 30 days. If you buy a digital game and don’t connect your console to the internet for 30 days, your license will be removed.”
Another YouTuber, NikTek, confirmed the news as well with screenshots from PlayStation Support. “According to the screenshots, the Support confirmed, “Yes, this is the latest requirement for the licenses to be updated to date,” the support chat read. “Affected Content: Games purchased digitally after the March 2026 update.”
I have chatted with a human assistant using PlayStation Support and indeed they have confirmed that the following news is true.
— NikTek (@NikTek) April 27, 2026
The 30-Day Timer being applied to all new purchases is true https://t.co/xqn0v4989h pic.twitter.com/tt5uNz5usl
The timer reportedly exists on PS5, but it can’t be seen. Players will be notified when the timer runs out when they try to play the game.
According to VCG, the biggest concern is long-term impact. If the timer is going to be the new standard moving forward, then many players will have to rely on the CMOS battery if Sony ever turns off the PS4 and PS5 services. From there, when the CMOS runs out, any digital games will be unplayable.
The news has created a lot of backlash from gamers, and rightly so, but some companies are using that as an opportunity. GameStop posted on their official X account saying “Play really has no limits at GameStop” with an image of a PlayStation pointing to the physical disc slot.
Play really has no limits at GameStop pic.twitter.com/l9d8qWYMOv
— GameStop (@gamestop) April 28, 2026
The discussion has crept back to whether physical media is just all around better than digital. While digital is convenient and saves space, it seems that more companies are proving that you don’t truly have ownership of something unless you physically have it.
