Updated
Updated · Game File | Stephen Totilo · Aug 28
Sony Defends PlayStation Digital Game Disclosures in California Suit Over 2025 Ownership Law
Updated
Updated · Game File | Stephen Totilo · Aug 28

Sony Defends PlayStation Digital Game Disclosures in California Suit Over 2025 Ownership Law

3 articles · Updated · Game File | Stephen Totilo · Aug 28

Summary

  • Sony told a California federal court on Aug. 21 that PlayStation buyers are not misled into thinking they own digital games, marking its first substantive response to a proposed class action filed in June.
  • The company said its checkout page links to the PlayStation Terms of Service and Software Product Licensing Agreement, which state that software is licensed rather than sold.
  • Gamers suing Sony argue those disclosures fall short of a 2025 California law requiring a clear, conspicuous warning in plain language that a digital purchase is a license.
  • Sony also argued consumers inherently understand digital games are not owned in the same way as physical goods because multiple people can hold copies at once.

Insights

Will California's strict new disclosure law force the entire gaming industry to finally abandon the misleading Buy Now button at checkout?
How does the impending end of physical game discs by 2028 transform this digital licensing dispute into a massive media preservation crisis?
If digital games are only licensed, what happens to your entire library if a platform suddenly shuts down or bans your account?