30-day timers appear on PlayStation digital games

On April 25, some PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users reported new “Remaining Time” counters showing 30 days on pages for certain digital games. The interface element suggested a title might stop working if the console did not connect to the internet within that period.

Modder Lance McDonald posted a screenshot on X showing Don’t Starve with a “Remaining Time” field and wrote that games purchased on or after April 25 would lose their license without a monthly online check-in. He added that using the “Activate console as primary” setting would not prevent the restriction.

Other players reported the counters appeared inconsistently, visible only on a small number of titles and not on many older purchases. Users described uncertainty about which purchases were affected and why the UI element had been added.

Video game preservation site Does it play posted that it had received information from an anonymous insider indicating the timers were unintentional, the result of a software change made while addressing an exploit. The site wrote: “Sony accidentally broke something while fixing an exploit.”

Sony has not issued a public statement on the timers or on the preservation site’s account. Owners of digital games, archiving groups and other observers are seeking clarification on whether the counters reflect a policy change, a temporary bug or an update that altered license checks.

The reports focus on purchases made from late April; many players reported older purchases did not display the timers. Digital rights management and periodic online check-ins have been topics of discussion within console and preservation communities for years.