The topic As Sony halts physical releases, Microsoft loses a lawsuit for blocking an Xbox… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Sony shook the gaming world when it recently announced that it wasn’t planning to release physical copies of PlayStation games in 2028. With a full move to digital, game collectors are concerned that they’ll no longer have a means to keep a game forever. In a digital-only world, all it would take is for Sony to ban the account or even revoke the licenses, and the games vanish into thin air.
However, it appears the pushback has already begun, and it’s not even in Sony’s ballpark. Someone has just won a lawsuit against Microsoft after the company blocked an account with digital titles on it and asked the user to rebuy all their games.
As spotted by Notebook Check, Redditor Ordo_Liberal posted on the Xbox subreddit about their progress. They’ve been legally battling Microsoft since the start of this year after the company revoked access to their account on suspicion that it was hacked. Microsoft reportedly didn’t give the account back and told Ordo_Liberal to repurchase the games.
Now, Ordo_Liberal has posted to reveal that they won the case. This took place in Brazil, so the document isn’t in English, but there was a posted translation:
Order the defendant, regarding the obligation to act, to proceed with the unblocking of the account under the plaintiff’s email, under the email [redacted], within 15 (fifteen) days, under penalty of a daily fine of R$ 150.00 (one hundred and fifty reais), capped at R$ 1,500.00 (one thousand five hundred reais),
As Sony leads us down the path of a digital-only era, where a single block or license revocation can wipe out people’s collections, this may just be the first of many battles we’ll see as gamers strive to keep the collection they’ve paid for intact.