Do You Own Your Digital Games?
Sony says "reasonable consumers” would realize they do not
Despite language on their website saying “buy now,” Sony says you do not actually own digital games or content you buy on their storefront. Find out the details. Also, check out the latest headlines from the past week. Let’s go.
Who owns digital game “purchases”
In June, four California residents sued Sony, saying the company does not specify that PlayStation owners are buying game licenses, not actual games. A 2025 California law requires that companies make it clear if a purchase does not constitute ownership, and is instead simply for a license.
PlayStation players who use the company’s digital storefront are greeted with language like “buy now” and “confirm purchase” when they pay for digital games. The lawsuit comes on the heels of Sony revoking digital licences for over 500 movies users purchased on their storefronts. Users who “bought” the movies are no longer able to watch them at all, even if they had them downloaded to their device. Also last year, Sony deleted digital versions of their game Concord from the consoles of players who purchased the game just weeks after it launched. In this case, Sony refunded players. Individuals who purchased digital movies through their system did not receive any type of compensation.
In a filing on the case, Sony contends that “reasonable consumers” are fully aware that when they purchase a game through their storefront, they are actually buying a license and that they do not own the game. Sony makes the strange argument that if one person owned a digital copy of the game, no one else could own a copy. In their brief, Sony states:
In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining “ownership” of a digital game. 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… Moreover, digital video games are played against other players, who themselves must have a copy of the game in order to play. It is not plausible that reasonable consumers would believe that once they obtained a digital video game, they would be the exclusive owner of that game.
As Sony plans to stop making disc versions of their games and likely will not include a physical disc drive on their next hardware, the question of digital ownership becomes even more important. We will post updates about the case as it makes its way through the courts.
Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
🐉 Developer Jagex announced RuneScape 4 and much more at their annual RuneFest convention.
🏈 Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin spent 12 years building a city in Minecraft. Check out his video tour.
📺 Saturday Night Live has some fun with the two biggest games releasing in November - Grand Theft Auto 6 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
🏆 The nominees for the 2026 Golden Joystick awards were announced.
📺 The board game Codenames is now available on Netflix’s digital game library.
🏀 As part of a marketing gimmick, the NBA’s Miami Heat will wear Vice City uniforms in their November 18th game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
💰 Steam’s 2026 revenue will likely top $20 billion for the first time.
🚀 The developer Naughty Dog plans to show more of their upcoming game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet in 2027. The developer is also reportedly working on a new Uncharted game.
🇪🇺 The head of the advocacy group Stop Killing Games calls the European Union’s Kids Act “the most draconian proposal I've ever seen regarding video games and consumers.”
🌀 Game Informer’s recent cover piece on Grand Theft Auto 6 provided more details on the upcoming game. The game’s world will also be twice the size of GTA 5, and include weather elements like hurricanes and tropical storms.
😠 Despite great reviews, developers who worked on the upcoming game Gears of War: E-Day fear they’ll be laid off after the game launches, and before they receive their bonuses.
🤖 Sony’s AI upscaling that is currently only available on the PlayStation 5 Pro model is coming to the base version console.
📰 The New York Times posted an interview with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma that seemed more like propaganda than journalism.
♨️ Steam’s discount and event sections are being updated to be more "dynamic and personalised."
👵🏼 A 78-year-old woman now holds the world record as the world’s oldest Fortnite streamer.
Jason Dean
New Releases this week:
10/5: Aion 2 (PC)
10/6: Gears of War: E-Day (Xbox and PC)
10/6: Star Wars: Galactic Racer (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
10/8: Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
10/8: Silver Pines (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
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