A 2025 California law is supposed to require companies to make it clear when they are selling people digital games that they won’t permanently own. Sony is currently facing a proposed class action lawsuit claiming the PS5 maker still isn’t correctly disclosing that digital games are just licenses. In a new filing to defend itself, the company says that’s nonsense.
“In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game,” Sony argued in its latest filing in the case, as reported by 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.”
At issue is California’s requirement for a “clear and conspicuous” warning label that effectively communicates to PlayStation players that any digital games they purchase can be taken away from them at any time for any reason. The class action lawsuit argues that people buying digital games don’t know they don’t actually own them. Sony’s response to that is, essentially, “but of course they do. After all, it’s in the platform’s terms of service that nobody reads!”
As Game File points out, the court overseeing the case is currently just ruling on whether or not the case should go to arbitration. The above argument may end up being moot. Or maybe the lawsuit will move forward and end up forcing Sony to replace the current “Buy” button in the PlayStation Store with one reading “Purchase a digital license.”
The legal arguments will have more significance now that Sony has announced its decision to conclude production of new game discs in the PS6 console generation, ending PlayStation game ownership moving forward. The company recently sent an amusingly timed reminder to players in Europe that digital ownership is a myth.
