Sony Revokes Access to Purchased Digital Games, Sparking Debate on Crypto-Based Ownership

WHY IT MATTERS

When you buy a digital game on a platform like PlayStation, you might assume you own it the same way you would own a physical disc. But in reality, you are usually buying a license — essentially permission to use the game — which the company can take away under certain conditions. Think of it like renting an apartment versus owning a house: the landlord can change the terms or even end your lease. Blockchain technology offers a potential alternative by creating a digital receipt (sometimes called a token) that lives on a decentralized network no single company controls. This token could prove you own something without relying on any one company to honor that claim. However, the game itself still needs to run on servers and software that someone maintains, so blockchain alone does not fully solve the problem.