Four players are suing PlayStation Producer Sony Interactive Entertainment and California are seeking class-action status under the Digital Goods Transparency Act, AB2426, which takes effect in 2025. In short, companies need to tell customers that digital goods like video games and music are licenses, not outright purchases like physical goods. PlayStation features language intended to disclose this information, but the lawsuit alleges it is not enough.
The timing is probably not a coincidence. In recent weeks and months, many video games have been shut down, and those who own them have been unable to continue playing them after they have gone completely offline. Although many of these games are not PlayStation's own, it is worth highlighting the recent shutdown of online services. Destruction AllStars. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Destruction AllStars There was a 2021 PS5 exclusive that was delisted in May 2026 with online servers shutting down. All that's left of it is the single-player mode, which is a shell of what the game was, and that too will be gone on November 25th. Such closures are not explicitly named in the case, but reflect its direction.
The Stop Killing Games movement saw a major victory
The Stop Killing Games movement had a triumphant moment in the form of a bill that would improve consumer rights for gamers.
The PlayStation Store is facing a new issue
A new lawsuit filed alleging that it violated a California law that requires digital storefronts to clearly disclose when customers buy licenses (not actual games), that language like “buy now” and “confirm purchase” intentionally misleads people (lawyers wrote in a recent complaint, as first reported by Aftermath). According to the complaint, the four gamers did not know they had purchased a license to play the game, and could not purchase it.
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In this, the lawyers suggest that when someone checks out at the PlayStation Store and presses “Confirm Purchase”, shoppers do not need anything to confirm that they have read and understood the disclosure – where, above said button, there is a note that informs sellers. However, the complaint alleges that it is still too small and “would not have taken into account this disclosure if a reasonable customer had completed the purchase.”
It remains to be seen how this case will play out, but it's worth noting that it's not just limited to California. Players around the world use these stores, are limited to licenses, and do not have full ownership of their games. That came to a head when Ubisoft shut down the crewIts online-only racing game, in 2023, served as the inspiration for this law. It was also Crux that kick-started the Killing Games movement, which is pushing for an alternative to shutting down games in the United States and Europe.
It's worth noting that this isn't the only lawsuit filed over similar issues (GameStop was sued for similar issues before voluntarily dismissing it), nor is it the only lawsuit filed against PlayStation/Sony this year. In May, a lawsuit was filed against Sony for allegedly raising PS5 prices to counter the charges, but not passing them on to consumers who purchased the PS5 at the time. Essentially, it accuses Sony of profiting twice: once on initial inflated sales, the second time on kickbacks from fees.
