So I was wrong, it wasn’t unintentional, it’s apparently a real policy change.
It’s not continual check-ins every 30 days, it only happens once and then the license is permanent, if I’m understanding correctly. So, not a huge deal for most people, but it’s still additional DRM and could potentially cause problems for people who buy games and then take their consoles offline for more than a month.
Reading the comments, this is the most official statement from Sony? That is weird. They just said, “This is a thing that happens. Don’t worry about it.” but didn’t explain anything or say why or even like how?
The quote is:
“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.”
And like yeah the comments are quick to point out that you have to be online to buy & download the game anyway, so what’s changed? Why has it changed? How has it changed? A one-time online check sounds like it should already be an automatic process but for some reason it wasn’t but it’s also such a change that people have noticed?? This article also presumes that Xbox has rolled out the same feature, so like, I’d like to know what’s going on here. It’s all just rumors and reporting. It’s made to sound like I have to download and open a game I buy within 30 days or lose the license, which ummm, no. High School me was more likely to write a 5 page essay in 30 days than I’d play all the games I hoard when I buy them.
From the Sony Defence Force online posts I’ve read, it’s apparently to stop people buying a digital game, downloading it and moving the data to an external drive then asking for a refund, which they can for up to 14 days, then playing the game offline after copying it back over.
Hence the permanent check being after the refund window.
To me feels like patching for an unlikely scenario that’s probably not been used much - and honestly anyone with enough time and energy to go through all that to play an unpatchable (it’s stuck in whatever state you downloaded it) game is probably a teenager or someone not earning a ton, so best of luck to them as we all remember our young days when you couldn’t afford all the games you wanted (I’d have loved Game Pass so much as a teen!)
Wait, so what is the window to check? That’s also not clear from the quote? This makes it sound like the system does the “permanent” license one time check AFTER the first 14 days. Is that still in a 30 day window? That sounds even more prone to a worst case scenario. Is there going to be a warning that your PS can’t be offline between day 14 & day 30 of owning XYZ game?
I hope there’s enough people exploiting it that Playstation is losing some noticeable money. Otherwise why even go through all this effort and confuse customers.
Unknown, but yeah seems like it’ll make the check sometime after 14 days
My understanding is this is a measure to stop a fringe case of piracy. It shocks me cases like this must cost ps an awful lot of money if they are instituting something like this for every customer.
Wonder if it is more of a proactive thing for future handhelds. Seems like handhelds are more likely to be offline for long periods of time.
All of these ownership rules are getting too complicated for me. On one of the last pods, the team was talking about what you have to do with your rog ally if you go on a plane so you can play. Set the handheld to something and make sure you launch it first while online or something along those lines. Unless I’m wrong, I’d be real pissed if I couldn’t use a handheld on a long flight b/c I didn’t go through several steps beforehand.
Like on the one hand I don’t get too concerned about the intricacies of DRM because my consoles are always online anyway.
I can’t remember who, but isn’t there a poster here who habitually keeps their console disconnected unless they have a specific reason to go online? This is now a big problem for them and anyone else who doesn’t keep their console online all the time after buying a new game.
I’m not surprised but it’s still off putting to see people’s views on DRM completely hinge on whether it’s “their team” doing it. I’ll give Does It Play credit this time though because they are criticizing Sony since that statement.
You have to make your console/PC your home console, and launch the game at least once to register it, and go offline. The existence of such measures is understandable otherwise it will be much easier to pirate, but I think there ought to be better indications in the OS for that, instead of having to look up how to do it.
For people who hate all this digital store, DRM stuff, it’s always been weird that they don’t include Steam in the blame like they haven’t been doing it and standardizing for PC since 2004 lol
Yeah, as a non PC gamer I have never understood that one either. “I hate how consoles are moving away from physical games to digital stores and DRM so therefore I’m switching from consoles to Steam.” … Wat? But a lot of people apparently do not see the discrepancy there. It’s like Steam exists in a parallel reality where the rest of their opinions don’t apply.
Nope, they somehow don’t see it. Valve really is just some pure godsend angels to most people. Every other platform gets lambasted if they don’t release 4 games in a year meanwhile Valve have barely put out 2 games in 15 years and people genuinely don’t question it 
and I’m not saying this as hate to Valve, I frickin want them to make more games because when they did, they were some of my favorite!
Which is extra funny, because I am old enough to remember that everyone hated steam when it came out.
I don’t doubt that, most people genuinely hate change, but now it seems they’re forgiven for all. And I don’t blame Valve for seeing the opportunity to see the future and seize it, but it’s weird when they are today not included in the conversation around such controversial aspects that that they were a big part of.
Yep I hated them, the more Steam started to get integrated with everything the less you were able to sail the high seas which as a teenager with a PC was annoying - plus PCs back then didn’t need extra shit running in the background given your antivirus and other stuff would always choose game time to scan.
Once fast and reliable internet became common (and I mean fast as in "download a 50/60gb game in 5 minutes or less) and game subs started becoming available I was happy to pivot to the convenience of digital and I stopped hating Steam - but I still don’t have the love affair the PC generations after me seem to have, if I’m able to get a game cheaper on the Xbox app I’ll happily do that as I much prefer achievements and Microsoft Rewards
Even if this were a valid exploit, wouldn’t an account get banned after numerous refunds?
You’d think so, or at least be investigated further - even if they set up new accounts hardware blocks etc would mostly work…
Interesting to see people downplay the importance of Sony exclusives in response to this, when last week in response to the PC news, exclusives were all-important and the major reason to buy a PS5. 
Because it will make it look bad. We can’t have that.
Logic seems to be “Assume PlayStation will dominate forever” and then work backwards from there. Use whatever argument will fit this week’s news to that conclusion, even if it’s the opposite of what you argued last week or last month… 