PlayStation Support has seemingly confirmed that PS5 digital games now have a 30-day online check-in DRM. According to reports, new PlayStation 5 titles bought after April 2026 will now crash and become unplayable if you don’t connect to the internet. However, Sony also appears to be denying it’s a new policy and won’t confirm whether it’s a mistake or not.
PlayStation Support Seemingly Confirms PS5 DRM
Last week, we reported on a rumor that PS5 digital games now have a new DRM restriction added to them. Specifically, reports claimed PlayStation 5 titles bought digitally after mid-April 2026 now have a 30-day countdown timer added to them. Players who fail to connect to the internet within that limit would then be blocked from accessing their game.
However, that rumor might have just been confirmed by PlayStation Support. According to many players who have tried contacting Sony over it, PlayStation support is now officially acknowledging it exists. In a screenshot that surfaced online, a PS5 support ticket outlines how the new DRM system works:
“Thank you for your interest in the 30-Day Timer that is being applied to all new purchases. Affected Content: Games purchased digitally after the March 2026 update.
Offline Functionality: If the console does not connect to the internet within 30 days, the license expires and the game may refuse to launch until a connection is restored.
Primary Console Restriction: Setting a console as “Primary” does not bypass this 30-day requirement. The 30-day is a valid period and is not a sign of an account restriction or anything like that..”
Although it should be pointed out these responses are likely from Sony’s AI chatbot. While it’s concerning that official PlayStation support is seemingly telling customers this is in fact real, it could also be a mistake or generic automated message.
Sony Support Agents Deny 30-Day PS5 DRM Policy
Following the PlayStation Support drama, several players managed to get in contact with actual live employees from Sony. According to these PlayStation 5 support agents, Sony is claiming it has not implemented PS5 DRM as an official policy.
“At this time, there is no requirement for players to re-authenticate their digital purchases every 30 days. If you bought a digital game in late March, you will still be able to access and play your game normally, even after 30 days have passed.”
PS5 DRM Has Been Confirmed By Tests
To be clear, the new PS5 DRM on digital games appears to have been confirmed by multiple testers. YouTuber Spawn Wave, for example, verified that new PlayStation 5 digital games bought in April will now crash if the 30-day timer runs out without connecting to the internet.
In his April 27 video where he demonstrated this, an error message now pops up after the timer runs out: “Can’t use this content. Can’t connect to the server to verify your license.” Interestingly, it appears that not all PS5 games show the timer. However, players have still been able to trigger the crash and error message after the 30-day period without a connection runs out.
Is PS5 Digital DRM Real?
Game preservation site Does It Play also reacted to the latest PS5 DRM update on X and wrote, “Support responses to the Sony DRM issue making rounds. None fully address the issue. Yes, there is new DRM & there is a 30 day timer. But Support doesn’t fully acknowledge how bad of a screw up the situation is nor why the DRM was even necessary. Zero word about the CBOMB.”
So yes, it appears the PS5 DRM on digital games rumor is actually in fact real. However, it’s currently unclear whether Sony made a mistake, or if it’s a new policy change. It might also not be impacting all players. Regardless, the fact that such a DRM system even exists in the first place is concerning. Many PlayStation fans have since accused Sony of adopting the deeply unpopular “always online” Xbox One DRM from 2013.
At the time of writing Sony PlayStation as a company has not released an official statement on the PS5 DRM. While it appears to be active for some players, we are still left in the dark whether this is intentional or not. Only time will tell whether this is actually the future for PS5 digital games.
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