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Recently, Sony announced it was ditching physical games to pursue an all-digital future. Instead of buying game discs, customers will have to buy digital copies. Except not really. Turns out you don’t own the digital titles you buy on PlayStation 5; you only purchase licenses that the company can revoke at any time. You don’t even own your console. Sort of.
According to the PS5 System Software License Agreement, Sony holds the right to disable your console — specifically access to system software and PlayStation services, warranty, and repairs — at their discretion. This doesn’t render the console useless, but this complete lack of access essentially bricks your ability to use it, especially since modern game discs sometimes don’t contain fully playable games. While the agreement stipulates that this action is reserved for users who violate its terms, the document doesn’t specify what actions Sony believes deserve such a punishment. But history has shown it isn’t much.
In 2020, Sony started a temporary service known as PlayStation Plus Collection that gave PS5 owners with a PS Plus subscription free PlayStation 4 games. But back then, PS5 consoles were hard to come by. People discovered an easy workaround: Use a PS5 to log into the account of someone who only owns a PS4, and the games are immediately unlocked. Some PS5 owners used this loophole to grant their friends free games, while others sold temporary access. In response, Sony banned all associated accounts for up to two months and permanently blocked involved PS5 consoles from accessing any network services. This is only one example of Sony bricking consoles.
Sony isn’t the only one
Rumors abound about the next generation of game consoles, but many revolve around the same frightening hypothetical future: Console manufacturers want to get rid of physical media. This is by no means guaranteed, but in July, stories started swirling about Xbox tech that would let you digitize physical games, which were confirmed in August. But if Sony isn’t the only company trying to phase out discs, is the same true for bricking consoles? Unfortunately, yes.
As with the PS5 license agreement, the Xbox Software License Agreement clearly states that Microsoft reserves the right to brick your Xbox console at any time. Again, the document outlines that this fate is reserved for people who break the terms of the service agreement, but at least Microsoft elaborates on the issue. According to the document, using “Unauthorized Accessories or Unauthorized Games,” installing “Unauthorized Software,” or circumventing the console’s “technical limitations, security, or anti-piracy system” are grounds for console bricking. While Microsoft doesn’t explain what counts as unauthorized, the whole “no circumventing anti-piracy measures” part is self-explanatory.
All that leaves is Nintendo and its Switch and Switch 2 consoles. Surely Nintendo wouldn’t brick those, right? Guess again. The Switch 2’s User Agreement states that if you try to reverse engineer any part of the console’s software, bypass or modify its protections, or use pirated software, Nintendo can and will “render the Console and/or the Software permanently unusable in whole or in part.” In 2025, people who used the MiG microSD tool had their consoles cut off from the internet. Quite frankly, the only gaming device a company can’t brick is a PC, so if you’re worried about that sort of thing, you might want to invest in a computer instead of a console.
