UPDATE: Sony told Gamespot that this new policy is just a one-time thing for every newly purchased digital game.
“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual. A one-time online check is required to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are required.”
Original news below
It looks like Sony has been sneaking some rather controversial changes under the radar lately. Without making any sort of formal announcement, the company is reportedly rolling out a new DRM policy for PS4 and PS5 owners that could fundamentally change how players access their digital libraries.
Word on the street is that a bunch of players are noticing a new 30-day online check-in requirement popping up for their digital titles. Essentially, you now have to ping the servers at least once a month, or you might find yourself locked out of your own games.
If you do happen to miss the window, you aren’t permanently barred, but you will need to find an internet connection to refresh your game licence before you can get back into the action. It seems this shift is tied to the firmware update from March, with only games installed after that point feeling the squeeze so far.
The real kicker here is that this looks to be the new standard moving forward. Any digital game you download from here on out will likely come with this tether attached, which effectively puts an expiry date on offline play even for single-player titles.
While PlayStation Support chatbots have apparently been confirming the shift to curious users, Sony itself has stayed pretty quiet on the matter, leaving the community to piece together the details for themselves. It is certainly not the most transparent way to handle such a significant change to user rights.