PlayStation Support agents have acknowledged a controversial PS Store update that affects digital games and add-ons on both the PS5 and PS4 as of March 2026. Late last month, PlayStation LifeStyle was the first outlet to report on a new 30-day “Valid Period” that was stealthily added to new PS Store purchases. It looks like that wasn’t a glitch after all.
PS Store update locks PS5, PS4 players out of purchased games after a month
Last weekend, players realized that all new PS Store purchases required a mandatory online license check after 30 days, failing which would render the content unusable. Some folks even took their consoles offline to test it out and confirmed that they were locked out of their digital games after 30 days.
This has two major implications: a. Players who don’t have access to the internet at the end of the 30 days will be locked out of their games. b. Should your PS5’s CMOS battery die, you will lose your digital games because the console won’t be able to verify your license.
A video demonstrating what happens can be viewed below, thanks to Spawn Wave:
UPDATE ❗️❗️❗️
Its been 32 days since I got My
PS5 Pro and The Star War Race Game.
I can No Longer Play it also
My Full Game Of Need For Speed Rivals with all DLC is Now
“License Locked”
With No counter or anything like that.
BUT My Demo’s Still work and My OKAGE Still Works ? pic.twitter.com/yrIzwki3eY
— GrimDoe (@OfflineConsole) April 27, 2026
Folks who have contacted PlayStation Support have received mixed answers, as expected. However, the common theme is that this change is intentional.
Any PlayStation game purchased digitally after March’s sytem update will reportedly now require an internet connection once every 30 days to validate the license ?
If the console stays offline longer than that, the games will not launch until you reconnect
(via… pic.twitter.com/yN6ZPzEN3L
— Culture Crave ? (@CultureCrave) April 27, 2026
The new DRM on the PlayStation update is a disgrace to gaming, Sony should make a statement whenever this PlayStation Support message is real or faked.
This issue with this 30-Day Timer being applied to all new purchases isn’t about having an active internet connection, but the… pic.twitter.com/V35Ftf0Ux4
— NikTek (@NikTek) April 27, 2026
As usual, Sony has chosen not to comment on the issue yet despite intense backlash.
Should we hear from the company, we’ll update our readers.