With Sony fielding a class action lawsuit claiming its store terms suggest ownership but convey the licensing of digital games, aptly named consumer rights group Consumer Rights Wiki has seen PlayStation fans assemble an incomplete but in-depth list of PlayStation verbiage indicating that users do, in fact, "own" the games they buy.
The Consumer Rights Wiki has a freshly updated page dedicated to the "Sony PlayStation digital game ownership lawsuit," which hinges on a California law (per AB 2426) requiring digital vendors to clearly tell consumers that they are purchasing licenses, not purchasing products. Steam maker Valve seemed to adjust its own verbiage after the law's passage in 2024.
In a response to the lawsuit, Sony argued "reasonable consumers would not be misled" by its terms. This follows a serendipitous email reminder telling PlayStation users "software is licensed to you, not sold."
Sony's terms of service do clearly state this, but the PlayStation Network itself, where users actually make purchases, is filled with allusions to owning digital games. This goes for PlayStation Store product listings and myriad help pages, dozens of which have been collated by Consumer Rights Wiki contributors, with links to live versions of those pages and archived web snapshots available for each.
For example, the explainer for how to "Upgrade an eligible PS4 digital game on a PS5 console with a disc drive or PS5 Digital Edition console" specifies that you will need "an eligible digital PS4 game you already own."
On the main UK PS5 hub, now branded with a warning that PlayStation will abandon physical games in January 2028, Sony writes: "Track your PS5 journey with info on your total play time, games you own and more." This bit is tucked underneath a section showing the disc drive-equipped and all-digital PS5 consoles, but is less of an explicit reference to digital games.
A common PlayStation Store DLC blurb – here, dutifully represented by a $2 costume for Dead or Alive 5: Last Round – clarifies: "This costume was previously distributed by some retailers as a gift with purchase of DOA5LR. Be careful not to purchase content you already own."
هەفتانە هەرسکردنەکان، چیرۆکەکانی ئەو کۆمەڵگایانەی کە خۆشت دەوێن و زۆر شتی تر
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fed-up-with-sony-playstation-fans-compile-a-list-of-all-the-times-the-company-said-you-own-your-games-and-archive-every-last-receipt/
