Sony’s arguments against digital ownership are bordering on parody, as it says it’s impossible for more than one person to own a digital copy of a video game.
One of the big issues with Sony’s decision to abandon releasing physical PlayStation games after 2027 is the fear that no one will get to own the video games they purchase anymore.
When you buy a digital copy of a game, you are technically paying for a digital licence to play it, rather than the game itself; one that can very easily be taken away, as evidenced with digital movies on the PlayStation Store.
Rather than make the transition less painful and assuage these concerns, Sony is going out of its way to make your lack of ownership more apparent, with almost villainous glee, arguing that everybody has always known they never owned their digital purchases.
Just recently, PlayStation owners received an email laying out how digital games are ‘licensed, not sold’ to them and Sony is doubling down on this argument in court, following assertions this detail has never been apparent to customers.
In June, a group of gamers filed a lawsuit against Sony for alleged violations of a California law, that states digital storefronts must make it clear if customers are buying licences for games.
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Sony’s response is that it already does that in both PlayStation’s terms of service and the Software Licence Agreement, but it also says that you can’t own a digital copy of a game because if you did, no one else could play it.
‘In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game,’ says Sony (via Game File).
‘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.’
This argument is baffling nonsense, since Sony is effectively saying there is only ever one copy of each digital game. By that logic, wouldn’t that mean games like Spider-Man 2 and God Of War: Ragnarök only sold one digital copy each and not the millions that Sony brags about?
Plus, one of the reasons for Sony’s decision to ditch physical releases is because most people are buying digital games, but despite these assertions that people have effectively been renting these games, Sony has always referred to these as digital sales.
It all sounds like some absurdist parody and most PlayStation customers aren’t going to accept the argument, although it’s harder to guess how the judge will respond to it.
Given the amount of legal pushback Sony’s plans have received from political figures, an ideal scenario is that Sony will need to recognise that digital purchases do indeed count as a form of ownership.
However, Sony could instead be instructed to simply make it more obvious to customers that they’re buying digital licences, which could happen if the aforementioned lawsuit goes forward and will effectively change nothing.
At the time of writing, a judge has yet to rule on whether the lawsuit will go into arbitration, which is what Sony wants.
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