PlayStation gamers sue Sony over digital game licenses
Four California gamers have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Sony, alleging that PlayStation misleads consumers into believing they are buying digital games when they are actually receiving limited, revocable licenses, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The lawsuit was filed June 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sony Corporation of America. The plaintiffs argue that PlayStation Store uses terms such as “Buy Now,” “Purchase” and “Confirm Purchase,” which can lead consumers to believe they obtain ownership of the games they pay for.
The case relies in part on a California law adopted in 2024 specifically to address the marketing of digital goods. Assembly Bill 2426 added Section 17500.6 to the state's Business and Professions Code. The law, which took effect in 2025, generally prohibits sellers from using terms such as “buy” or “purchase” for digital goods when a reasonable person would understand those terms to mean unrestricted ownership, unless the seller obtains the buyer's affirmative acknowledgment or provides a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the transaction is a license.
The law also requires such acknowledgment or disclosure to be separate from other transaction terms. It further says the disclosure must explain in plain language that buying or purchasing the digital good is a license and provide a way to access the full license terms.
According to the lawsuit, PlayStation does not transfer ownership of digital games. Instead, its Software Product License Agreement states that the software is “licensed to you, not sold.” The license is limited and non-exclusive and imposes restrictions on copying, distributing, modifying and reverse engineering the software. The complaint also says access may depend on the continued availability of the PlayStation platform.
The plaintiffs allege that PlayStation's disclosure does not meet California's requirements. They say the licensing information appears in comparatively small, ordinary text near the “Confirm Purchase” button and that customers are not required to separately acknowledge that they are receiving a license rather than ownership.
The lawsuit also alleges that PlayStation fails to clearly warn buyers that access to a game may be revoked under certain circumstances. The plaintiffs argue that this is particularly significant because the law requires disclosure, where applicable, that access may be unilaterally revoked if the seller no longer has the right to provide the digital good.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. would end physical game disc production for all new games on PlayStation consoles.