PlayStation says it’s common knowledge that buying a digital game doesn’t constitute ownership of said game.
In a proposed California class action lawsuit, the gaming giant is accused of not making it clear that digital purchases provide customers with licences to games. PlayStation, for its part, argues that in this digital age, “it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game.”
As an example of this, the company refers to plaintiffs’ digital purchases of Resident Evil Requiem on PS5. “Were that the case, then Plaintiff Edward Heycock would not have been able to obtain the game Resident Evil Requiem on February 25, 2026 for $69.99 from the PlayStation Store after Plaintiff Jason Mendoza had obtained Resident Evil Requiem on February 14, 2026, because Mr. Mendoza, not Sony, would have owned it then.”
When you buy a game on the PS Store, you get a message during checkout stating that confirming purchase means you agree to PlayStation’s terms of service and Software Product License Agreement, which are both linked. The company also emailed some customers last week to remind them that digital purchases only net you licences, not actual ownership.
However, the plaintiffs argue that PlayStation still isn’t meeting California’s standards for “clear and conspicuous” disclosure. And certainly, it’s a pretty broad assertion on PlayStation’s part that you’re being unreasonable if you don’t understand — or aren’t even aware of — the terms and conditions surrounding digital media. Given that most consumers only buy around two games per year, it’s easy to imagine a lot of people do indeed believe they are obtaining “‘ownership’ of a digital game.”
It remains to be seen if and when the matter will be settled in court, given that this is only a proposed class action. Nonetheless, the plaintiffs’ case speaks to larger concerns regarding the lack of ownership of digital media, especially as PlayStation remains committed to plans to stop supporting physical games in 2028. This is particularly problematic as companies can revoke these licences at any time, as we saw in June with none other than PlayStation when it removed hundreds of digital movies from buyers’ libraries due to expired “licensing agreements.”
