The findings showed that both PS4 and PS5 games required the console on which the game is installed to go online. At the time, this was interpreted to mean that the console would have to be connected to the internet at least once every 30 days or the game license would be revoked.
Now Sony has clarified the matter in a response it gave to GameSpot.
According to the company, games purchased digitally from the online store do indeed require a subsequent online verification even after the purchase.
But the check is carried out only once after the purchase. Apparently, the console should go online once, and this visit must take place within the first month from the purchase date, but after the end of the cancellation period for the game purchase - at least according to gaming media IGN .
In this way, Sony would prevent a situation where a user buys a game, immediately "returns" it, gets their money back - and continues playing the game on a console that is no longer connected to the internet.
But after that single verification, the game would then be playable forever, without new license checks from the servers.
After the original news, players feared that the licenses for already purchased games could be removed on a whim by the game's publisher at any time.
Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 6 May 2026 5:28
