Recent reports that new PS4 and PS5 digital game purchases have introduced apparent DRM requiring online activation every 30 days may not be as severe as once though, according to new claims.
Earlier this week it was reported that the new version 13.20 update for the PlayStation 5 console appeared to have also brought with it a form of digital rights management (DRM) in which digitally purchased games have to be verified.
The theory tested by numerous YouTube channels was that any digital game purchased on or after a certain date appeared to have a 30-day timer applied, suggesting that if the player didn’t play the game for 30 days, they would have to connect their console online to renew the license and reset the timer to 30 days again.
Now players who made such purchases a couple of weeks ago have started reporting that the 30-day timers have been disappearing from these purchases, leading to more investigation as to exactly what’s going on.
Resetera user Andshrew, who owns a jailbroken PlayStation 4 and has been using it to try to figure out what’s happening, appears to have found a potential explanation, claiming that the timer is a one-time measure to avoid piracy, and that digital game purchases lose their timers and become permanent after a couple of weeks.
The user noted that they purchased a PS4 game on April 9, then turned on their console on April 21. At this point, a 30-day timer for the game was applied, even before it had been installed. When the game was then installed on April 25, its information page showed that it was playable for another 26 days.
However, shortly after this, the timer disappeared and the game became valid for an indefinite period, like other digital purchases. The user noted that the time between the initial purchase on April 9 and the timer switching to a permanent licence was 16 days.
Andshrew’s theory is that the new timer has been put in place to prevent hackers exploiting Sony‘s refund system, where digital game purchases made on the PlayStation Store can be automatically refunded if it’s within 14 days of purchase, and if the game hasn’t been installed yet.
The user speculated that people were buying games on the PlayStation Store, using jailbroken PlayStation 4 consoles to extract the indefinite license applied to that game, then refunding the game without installing it. They could then use the license to acquire access to the game through other means.
By adding a new 30-day timer to the games by default, then changing it to an indefinite one after 14 days, this method is theoretically blocked, because the user won’t be able to extract an indefinite license until after the refund window has closed.
The new theory, then, is that all digital purchases of PS4 and PS5 games do now apply a 30-day licence, but that it’s only temporary, and after a period of at least 14 days – after the game can no longer be refunded – that license is then changed to an indefinite one, meaning players will no longer need to continually connect their console online to validate it.
Sony has still yet to officially explain this situation in detail, and AI support chatbots have been providing conflicting information. VGC has reached out to Sony for an official comment.
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