Thank you for subscribing!

With a simple reboot, you can bring back your PlayStation games

Having trouble accessing your digital games library on PlayStation? There is a way to restore them.

Digital licences are the proof that you own a digital game, downloaded from the store on PlayStation consoles. It's tied to your PlayStation account, rather than a physical disc. That means you can download and play the game on compatible consoles while signed into the account that owns it.

You don't need to keep a disc inserted, and you can usually re-download games you've purchased if you delete them to free up storage. It's pretty handy if you've upgraded from the PS4 to the PS5 and want immediate access, or don't have space in your home to store your discs.

And if your game isn't showing up for you online, your first instinct might be to think that you've lost it for good.

Sony has recently come under fire for their decision to ditch physical games from January 2028 – the one form that guaranteed your ownership. Gamers have argued that digital ownership is not the same thing as being able to hold the game in your hand. There is potential for it to disappear.

There has been enough outrage that gamers have been engaging in a week-long boycott. And Microsoft recently announced a new programme to rival Sony by giving your physical games new purpose.

Before you panic, try rebooting your licenses with these steps.

If you're looking to restore a license directly from the home screen or your game library, go to the game, press the options button, and then select Restore License from the menu.

Sony says these are the best steps to take on your homepage if you're game seems to have disappeared like mentioned above, if you're game is displaying a padlock around it, if you can't access a specific add-on in the game, or if its continuously crashing on you during play.

It's also important to note that this is account specific, so it doesn't matter which PlayStation console you own.

PlayStation gamers have been given more reasons to be wary of digital-only ownership lately, too.

Sony issued the troubling warning in an email, which reminded players that digital purchases amount to little more than temporary software licences. The email, shared on Reddit's PlayStation Solutions forum, informed PlayStation console owners they'd had "recently accepted" various agreements with Sony, including an updated terms of service, code of conduct, end-user licence agreement, and privacy policy.

The email reads: "The Software is licensed to you, not sold. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and personal license to play or use the Software for your private, non-commercial use on the system or device it was intended for."

What does all of that legalese mean? Well, if your PlayStation Network account is banned, or a service is discontinued, your entire digital library could vanish without compensation.

Several users have said they've received the email after not touching their PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console for months, leaving some of them confused.

The warning also reiterates that those who haven't used their account for some time could lose access to their entire account, not just the games — which was first introduced in 2019.

The terms of service state: "If you have not used your Account for at least 36 months, we may take steps to close it. In that case, we will contact you via the email address registered to your Account and give you 6 months to either log in to your Account or contact us and tell us to keep your Account open."

If the company does delete your account, this is permanent. This means you won't be able to restore your access or reboot your games using the digital license steps.

However, this doesn't mean that Sony is proactively deleting user accounts. Some users have had their account inactive for longer and were able to login without any issues. In some cases, companies will add these clauses in case they need to enforce them later.

On the other hand, some gamers were worried about Sony's notice this past May regarding a 30-day digital license check. Gamers were concerned that they needed to login to their accounts every 30 days to keep their digital licenses active.

Instead, Sony has clarified that you only need to verify your game within 30 days to authenticate your new purchase for digital PlayStation 4 and 5 games.