The Japanese corporation has rolled out a new protection mechanism – now all digital purchases on PlayStation 5 and PS4 made after March 2026 must confirm their legitimacy online every 30 days. As reported by Does it play?, without an internet connection, games and add-ons stop launching, even if the console has not physically left the house. The timer is not displayed in the interface and runs as a background process.
For Russian users, this means another narrowing of the legal field. Since May 2025, Sony has already been mass-blocking accounts registered through resellers in Turkey, India, Kazakhstan – that is, almost the entire Russian-speaking audience forced to circumvent the corporation's sanctioned withdrawal. Now even content purchased under such a scheme turns into a temporary rental: a console without monthly online access becomes a museum exhibit.
Background validation eliminates the possibility of long-term offline play – precisely the loophole that allowed maintaining access to the library during internet outages or deliberate disconnection.
PlayStation support in online chat confirmed the innovation, although the corporation has not issued an official press release. For the Russian market, cut off from official supplies and forced to mimic other regions, this means another round of reduction in available gaming.
Read more on the topic:
- Russians are switching to budget electronics: orders from abroad have increased, and the average check has fallen by 18%
- New service for paying for foreign subscriptions and games with Russian cards and SBP launched in Russia
- Unable to Top Up Steam and PS Store: Turkish Payment System Ininal Suspends Operations
