author: Zuzanna Domeradzka
PlayStation Users Losing Games Because of Bug. Sony Working on Fixes
Many PlayStation players are reporting that they cannot fire up games purchased from the PS Store. The serious bug also affects PS Plus subscribers. Sony is said to be preparing a special patch that will solve the problem.
Many people prefer purchasing games from digital stores because they value the convenience of expanding their collection. Unfortunately, giving up physical media and using only online services can also be associated with huge problems, as PlayStation console owners have been finding out in recent months. Many of them cannot run games previously purchased in the PS Store.
Players lose access to purchased games
Let's get into the whole matter in detail. Reports of isolated incidents involving the blocking of access to specific titles in the PlayStation console library had already been made in November of last year. At first glance, it may appear that the matters aren't connected, as the issue involved different, often unrelated games and applications.
However, too many people have found themselves in a similar situation. It turned out that the reason for blocking items from the library is a rare error related to reading their licenses. Which specific games couldn't run because of that?
- Paid and free games assigned to your PS Network account.
- Titles from the PlayStation Plus catalog received by subscribers.
- Applications (not games, e.g. Netflix).
- Games added to the library as part of free distributions.
One of the players affected by such a problem created a thread on Reddit, in which he listed other people reporting a similar problem with application licenses. Nearly 50 such cases have been documented, of which only a few ended successfully for the recipient. The list is now closed, but it is known that there are many more people affected (some have lost access to a larger part of their collection, which is worth a lot).
What is the solution?
Players who cannot launch games from their library or don't see them at all (as if they were completely removed), will most likely start looking for solutions on the Internet. Restoring the license on PS5 or PS4 is very simple, as you just need to dig around in the console settings for a bit, according to the official Sony website.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work in the case of the error described in this news. In fact, if your games have been blocked, you shouldn't restore the license. Many people claim that this option not only fails to work, but actually makes the situation worse (a case was described here in which the game ceased to appear in the library at all after such an action).
So what needs to be done to recover the purchased games? Unfortunately, there's no specific solution at the moment. Most players who reach out to the local PlayStation technical support department regarding this matter often find that their efforts are futile, as the staff can only suggest ineffective solutions, such as restarting the router or hard drive.
Apparently, however, Sony "already" knows about the problem -- with which some people have been struggling for many months and still don't have access to their games. The company is working on a patch that is expected to be released in March. Despite everything, if the matter concerns you directly, you should still contact PlayStation technical support. You should:
- Browse your game library on the PlayStation Network website - if any are missing, go to your transaction history;
- take screenshots of proof of purchases and then send them, which may make the process of regaining access easier.
Note that even if you're facing a similar issue with game blocking on PS4 and/or PS5, it might not be connected to this rare licensing error at all. It's worth trying different solutions and contacting Sony's technical support department.
What is Sony doing?
The licensing-related error in the production itself is annoying, but it's the prolonged wait for Sony's response and the actual resolution of the issue that irritates players the most. Some people manage to regain access to the games, but after a long period of struggle.
Some PS Plus subscribers were unable to launch the added titles to their account due to a licensing error, which is interesting.After eliminating the issue, they received a subscription code from Sony, part of which was wasted due to the problem.
Recently, the blocking of access to PlayStation games has been publicized in the media. Most likely due to this, as well as the growing number of incoming reports, the company will make the mentioned patch available, which will effectively solve the issue.