PSLS Help Desk - How to Play Digital PS4 Games Offline

There are so many pluses when it comes to buying a game digitally over retail. You don’t have to swap out discs (lazy FTW!), you can play them at midnight without attending a midnight launch, and they don’t take up any shelf space. They take up plenty of hard drive space, but that’s easily remedied with a nice 2TB solid state drive (SSD). But occasionally, those digital games you purchased can’t be played without an internet connection, which hardly makes sense. If they’re not online-only games, and you paid your hard-earned money for them, then why can’t you play them offline?

It’s actually a common occurrence, and the good news that there’s a super easy fix for it. If you come across this problem, the first thing you need to check is if your particular PlayStation 4 system is set as your Primary System. Only your Primary System can play digital games offline, because it’s this system that caches the licenses of your games. As such, anyone can play any of the Primary System’s games offline. To play your digital games on another system, you have to be online so Sony can verify the licenses.

Here’s how to check and see if your PS4 is set as your Primary System:

Log into the PSN from your PS4
Settings -> PSN -> Activate as Your Primary PS4
Select [Activate]

Simple enough, right? But what if you already have your PS4 selected as the Primary System but you still can’t play your games offline? There are two things you can do to give your system a kick into remembering that it’s your Primary System, and it needs to play what you rightfully purchased.

First, try the tried and true method of logging out of the PSN, restarting your PS4, and then logging back in again. If that still doesn’t work, manually restore your licenses. Here’s how you can do that if needed:

Log into the PSN from your PS4
Settings -> [PlayStation Network/Account Management] -> [Restore Licenses]

For 99.9% of all cases, following these steps will get your PS4 to play digital games offline. If you’re one of the unlucky 0.01%, you may have to resort to making that fun phone call to PlayStation Support.

Essential Reading:

Top 10 PS4 Games for Holiday 2016

Top 10 PS4 Games for Holiday 2016
Battlefield 1

First up in Battlefield 1. Developed by DICE and published by EA, this first-person shooter is set during World War I, and gives players the tools-of-the-time to wage war against one another. After the biggest beta in EA history, with over 13.2 million players taking part, it can’t just be us here at PlayStation LifeStyle who are excited. Battlefield 1 releases on October 21st.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

Next, we have a double whammy of Call of Duty action. We’ll admit that it’s Modern Warfare Remastered that we’re most excited to play. However, to actually get access to the remaster, you have to pick up an Infinite Warfare. Fortunately, Infinite Warfare is looking better with each new trailer that gets released, so we’re not too bitter. Both games release on November 4th, however on PS4 it’s possible to get 30 days early access to the Modern Warfare Remaster campaign by pre-ordering.
Dishonored 2

On November 11th, the Arkane Studios developed Dishonored 2 will launch. Set fifteen years after the first game, players can choose to play as either Emily or Corvo as they attempt to reclaim the Empire’s throne. We’re excited to continue the story of these characters, and see what improvements have been made to the game’s stealth, and should we get caught, brutal combat systems.
Final Fantasy XV

The first Final Fantasy game on our list today is Final Fantasy XV. Playing as main protagonist Noctis, players must explore the world of Eos, on a journey to retrieve a powerful stolen crystal. Square Enix claims that this Final Fantasy will be a major departure from previous games, providing a darker atmosphere that focuses on more realistic environments and human characters. We can’t wait to get stuck in and immerse ourselves in a brand new world when the game releases on November 29th.
Mafia III

Hangar 13 is the developer at the helm of delivering the next Mafia installment. Mafia III is set in 1968, in the fictional city of New Bordeaux. Put into the shoes of Lincoln Clay, players can wander the open world. The end goal for Clay, and therefore players, is to enact revenge against the Italian mob. We’ll be earning our vengeance at launch on October 7th.
Rise of the Tomb Raider

Almost a year after the Xbox release, PlayStation owners are finally going to get their hands on Rise of the Tomb Raider, when it launches on October 11th. Gameplay-wise, expect more of what made the 2013 reboot so great, along with improvements in the stealth department. No competitive multiplayer this time around, but there are Challenge Modes with specific mission requirements that we just know we’ll become obsessed with.
The Last Guardian

We feel a little anxious adding this title to our list, for fear that it will get delayed yet again, but here it is anyway. The Last Guardian, this mythical game that many thought would never see the light of day, will supposedly launch on December 6th. What we’ve seen from gameplay so far is the completion of simple puzzles in order for both the young boy and his giant griffin friend to progress. Hopefully their relationship is an interesting one, as this game really needs to do a lot to live up to the monumental hype.
Titanfall 2

Though Xbox exclusivity kept PlayStation fans from enjoying the first Titanfall, the sequel will be coming to PlayStation 4. Titanfall 2 brings Pilots and Titans together once again, as the Frontier Militia faces off against the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation. This time around there’s a single-player campaign, a heavily requested component. Titans will start falling when the game releases on October 28th.
Watch Dogs 2

The change of style and location has us excited about Watch Dogs 2. While the first game oozed gray and had little personality, the sequel looks vibrant and fun. Set in San Francisco, players will use their hacking know-how to take down an advanced surveillance system and the evil corporation behind it all. Watch Dogs 2 launches on November 15th.
World of Final Fantasy

Just in case one Final Fantasy wasn’t enough, Square Enix is also launching World of Final Fantasy, which is coming to both PS4 and PlayStation Vita on October 25th. The world of Grymoire is a land populated by classic Final Fantasy characters and monsters, and you must explore it to recover lost memories. Yes, it looks cute as hell, but whatever, we’re still damn excited for it.