That’s why it’s important to do something at least once a year to prevent this situation from happening.

To call the past few days a PR disaster for PlayStation would be an understatement. Ever since Sony announced that it would stop producing physical discs in 2028, fans have constantly criticized the company. Players are canceling their PlayStation Plus subscriptions to express their dissatisfaction with this strategy, and game developers are criticizing Sony’s move as well. Now, another anti-consumer provision has been discovered in the company’s terms of service, further damaging PlayStation’s public image.

According to the terms of service, if a user does not access their PlayStation Network account for three years, Sony will close the account and revoke access to all digital games purchased through it. Section 21.2 clearly states that PlayStation will delete an account if it remains inactive for 36 months, and the user will lose access to all purchased products. PlayStation sends players an email giving them the opportunity to respond and ask the company to keep their account open. If the user does not respond within six months, however, the account will be permanently closed and the licenses for all digital games, DLC, and movies purchased from the store will be revoked. We’d like to add that movie licenses can be revoked even without this provision—see the example of Studio Canal.

Given that PlayStation is placing its full emphasis on digital media, this clause in the terms of service does not bode well for consumers. More than 85% of PlayStation gamers currently oppose the decision to stop producing physical media, and this license agreement clearly shows why. Due to Sony’s strategic shift, fans have threatened to abandon PlayStation; a recent petition launched to prevent the discontinuation of game discs has already gathered more than 90,000 signatures.

However, consumers would likely have little influence over their purchasing decisions if game discs were gradually phased out.

Source: Tech4gamers, Sony