Sony adds 30-day online login requirement to PlayStation, restricting offline gamers

It’s not a great time to be a PlayStation gamer right now. Not only has Sony increased the price of its consoles, but now it seems that they’re also rolling out a new DRM policy for the PS4 and PS5 lineup. This new policy will require gamers to go online and log in via their console once every 30 days, or they’ll be locked out of the games they’ve bought.

This news came about after several PlayStation gamers noticed a ‘validity period’ and ‘remaining time’ section on their games. PlayStation support later went on to reply some of these users by stating that all digital games purchased after March 2026 will be affected by this change.

This DRM, or digital rights management policy, essentially places a mandatory online check in within a rolling 30-day window. If you don’t, you’ll lose access to your game even if you bought it until you go back online to renew the game’s license.

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

PlayStation gamers have also found that setting your console as the primary one doesn’t circumnavigate the DRM check either. This means that you’ll always need to go online with your PlayStation no matter what, even if it’s just for single player games. What’s worrying is that it seems even a dead CMOS battery in your console can trigger your digital games’ license being removed.

I’ve also been experimenting with this, and I can confirm that if your CMOS battery dies, any digital game with the timer becomes unplayable again, even if the console is set as the primary.

This is a digital game I purchased with money yesterday. I didn’t claim it with PS Plus. https://t.co/FzNlfHnyIj pic.twitter.com/SFmjPdOg6c

— Destruction Games〡DoesItPlay (@desgamesyt) April 25, 2026

For what it’s worth, Sony themselves have not officially confirmed this DRM policy; it was only their support staff that told users about it. Nevertheless, it appears that a large number of users are already starting to see this requirement in place, so it’s probably only a matter of time before Sony either announces it or revokes the change.

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