- Primary Subject: PS5 DRM Policy
- Key Update: The new PS5 DRM update requires a 30-day online license refresh to prevent refund exploitation, not to lock players out.
- Status: Published
- Last Verified: 2026-04-29
- Quick Answer: The recent PS5 DRM controversy stems from a new policy requiring a license refresh to prevent players from refunding games while keeping offline access.
The massive PS5 DRM scandal seems to have been blown out of proportion. That's because Sony didn't communicate the entire purpose of the decision to add a mandatory online license refresh: to avoid loopholes that saw players refund a game while keeping the license to play offline.
Earlier this week, PlayStation users were horrified when they found out about a new DRM (digital rights management) setting that required the consoles to connect to the internet in order to validate a license after 30 days of being offline. This didn't affect purchases made before the update, but with big titles like Saros and Insomniac's Wolverine, you could see how that might become a big issue in the coming months. Testers found out that it didn't even matter if your PS5 was set as the primary one; the license refresh needed to happen.
The internet exploded. Plenty of users heavily criticized this decision, with not so much as a statement made by Sony regarding the issue. Dozens of people claimed that PlayStation support was confirming this decision, even if many of them were talking to AI chatbots that couldn't directly understand the nuance of the questions being asked to them, adding to the massive paranoia.
On April 28, content creator NIB shared that the combined efforts of users from the ResetEra forum and DoesItPlay, a community that dedicates its efforts to game preservation, have seemingly found the reason for this new DRM implementation: it's a method to prevent people from refunding a digital game while keeping the offline licenses indefinitely.
NIB explains: "When you buy a digital game, you are issued a temporary 30-day license for offline play. This license automatically transitions to a permanent license that will be free from future online check-ins. Any time you connect after the 15th day of ownership, just after the 14-day refund window. But you have to log in or be connected to the internet for it to switch."
If that's confusing, let me break it down: previously, if someone purchased a digital game and decided to disconnect their PS5 from the internet after downloading it, then they proceeded to issue a refund, they could still keep the license permanently.
With this new method, they are required to get back online after 30 days, at which point they'll lose the ability to play the game. If they issued a refund, they would lose access permanently.
Does that mean you'll have to deal with this even if you had no intentions of doing such a scummy practice? Well, no. As NIB points out, the 30-day license turns into a permanent one after 15 days, a period in which users can no longer issue refunds. If you keep your PlayStation 5 online during that timeframe and then go offline for an entire month, you won't need to log back in to the internet, as you'll have cleared the initial testing period.
Honestly? If this ends up being the actual truth, I'm absolutely baffled Sony hasn't put out an official statement clearing up this mess that spun out of control and created negative PR these past few days.
And that's it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: your go-to source for all things PlayStation.