Sony has argued that PlayStation players do not own the digital games they buy, claiming true ownership would prevent multiple customers from purchasing the same title.
The argument appeared in an August 21 court filing responding to a class action lawsuit against Sony. It alleges that the PlayStation Store failed to provide disclosures required under California’s 2025 Digital Goods Law.
According to the filing, obtained by Game File, Sony believes consumers could not reasonably expect to receive ownership of a game purchased digitally because its software is licensed rather than sold.
Sony argues digital games are licensed, not owned
Sony’s lawyers cited the PlayStation Software Product License Agreement, which states: “The Software is licensed to you, not sold.”
The filing then used Resident Evil Requiem to illustrate Sony’s position, arguing that one player owning a digital game would theoretically prevent Sony from selling it to someone else.
“In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game,” Sony’s lawyers said.
“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.”
Section 10 of PlayStation’s Terms of Service also explicitly states that terms such as “buy,” “purchase,” and “own” do not indicate that customers receive ownership of digital content.
“Use of the terms ‘own,’ ‘ownership,’ ‘purchase,’ ‘sale,’ ‘sold,’ ‘sell,’ ‘rent’ or ‘buy’ in this Agreement or in connection with the Content does not mean or imply any transfer of ownership of any content, data or software or any intellectual property rights from SIE, its affiliates, or its licensors to any user or third party,” the terms read.
Sony’s response comes as PlayStation prepares to move away from physical media, with the company receiving backlash after it revealed it will stop producing discs for all new PlayStation games beginning in January 2028.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
