If a game you bought is missing from your PS5 library, first sign in to the purchasing account and confirm the transaction. Then use the PS5’s built-in Restore Licenses command. Open Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, select the relevant license, and check the library again. If the title is visible on the home screen or in Game Library, you can instead highlight it, press Options, and choose Restore License. Sony says this process does not affect your saved data.
What restoring a license actually fixes
A PlayStation Store purchase gives your account an entitlement to use the game. The PS5 normally checks that entitlement automatically, but a synchronization problem, a recently redeemed voucher, a hidden library item, or a different signed-in account can make a legitimate purchase appear unavailable.
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Restoring licenses asks PlayStation to refresh the licenses associated with the account on that console. It is an account and software operation, not a reinstall and not a factory reset. Sony’s support guidance specifically says that restoring licenses “won’t affect your data,” so it should not remove installed games, save files, screenshots, or other local content.
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Restoration cannot create a purchase that never completed, extend an expired subscription benefit, or override another account’s sharing settings. That is why checking the account, transaction, and entitlement type comes before or alongside the restore command.
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Before you restore: identify why the game is missing
Use these checks in order. They separate a missing license from a missing transaction, a hidden game, a subscription change, or a console-sharing issue.
1. Confirm the purchasing account
On the PS5, verify that the active user is the PlayStation account that bought the game. A purchase belongs to the account that completed the transaction; being signed in to a different family member’s account can make the title absent even when the console is working normally.
Open that account’s transaction history and confirm that the purchase succeeded. This check is particularly important after a recent Store purchase or voucher redemption. If the transaction is not recorded as completed, license restoration is not a substitute for resolving the payment or redemption problem.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWhen several people use the console, compare the account name shown on the transaction with the user profile you selected at sign-in. Do not assume that an account that can see another person’s games owns them. A shared console can display different libraries depending on who is signed in.
2. Check whether the game is hidden
A game can be hidden from Game Library without being deleted from the account. Sony notes that a title hidden in Game Library is hidden in the libraries of all consoles using that account. Look through the library’s hidden-game area and unhide the title if it is there.
If the purchase is present in transaction history but the game is only absent from the normal library view, unhiding it addresses the visibility problem; restoring licenses is not required simply because a title was hidden. Check the hidden list on the purchasing account, not only on a secondary user profile.
3. Determine what kind of access you had
Not every game that appears playable is an independently purchased Store title. Determine whether access came from one of these sources:
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- Standalone purchase: the account bought the game or redeemed a voucher for it. The transaction should remain in that account’s history.
- PlayStation Plus benefit: access depends on the qualifying subscription remaining active.
- PlayStation Plus catalog: the game must still be included in the catalog in your region, and your qualifying subscription must remain active.
- Another user’s purchase: access depends on that purchaser’s Console Sharing and Offline Play setting on this PS5.
Subscription and catalog checks apply only when the game came through a Plus benefit or catalog. An active Plus subscription does not restore a separately purchased game that is missing from its owner’s account. Conversely, a catalog listing can change even though the console and account are working normally.
4. Check Console Sharing and Offline Play for another purchaser
If another user bought the game, sign in to the purchasing account and check whether that account enabled Console Sharing and Offline Play on this PS5. Sony says the first PS5 on which the purchaser signs in is automatically allowed, but the setting can be enabled on only one PS5 at a time.
If the purchaser enabled sharing on an old console, that old PS5 must have the setting disabled before a new PS5 can be activated for sharing. When sharing is enabled on this console, its other users can play the purchaser’s downloaded games and use downloaded media offline. Restoring licenses under a non-purchasing account cannot repair a missing entitlement when this sharing relationship is not active.
The setting belongs to the purchaser’s account, not to the game and not to each secondary user. Therefore, have the purchaser perform the check while signed in. If the purchaser recently moved to a different PS5, verify which console currently has sharing enabled before repeating any license command.
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How to restore licenses on PS5
Use the general Settings route when you want to refresh one or more licenses for the signed-in account.
- Sign in to the account that owns the purchase, or to the purchaser’s account if the game is being shared.
- From the PS5 home screen, open Settings.
- Select Users and Accounts.
- Choose Other.
- Select Restore Licenses.
- When the license list appears, select the relevant game or add-on licenses and allow the process to finish.
- Return to Game Library and check the title. If it was installed but unavailable, try launching it again; if it was not installed, look for the download option associated with the restored entitlement.
The command refreshes licenses for the account; it does not erase local data. If the game is already visible on the home screen or in Game Library, the shorter per-game method may be more convenient. If the title is not listed at all, do not treat the absence from the selection screen as proof that the purchase vanished; return to the account and transaction checks.
Per-game method from the home screen or Game Library
- Highlight the game tile on the PS5 home screen, or highlight the title in Game Library.
- Press the controller’s Options button.
- Choose Restore License.
- After the operation completes, check whether the title can be started or downloaded.
This menu item is useful when the title is visible but reports that you do not own it, shows a lock, or otherwise fails an entitlement check. If the game is completely absent, use the general Settings route and the account, transaction, and hidden-library checks first.
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What to check after restoring
Return to the same account and look in Game Library rather than relying only on the home-screen row. A title may be licensed but not currently installed, so distinguish between an available download and an installed game that is still locked. If the game has separate add-ons, look for the relevant add-on licenses as well; restoring the base game does not change which account purchased downloadable content.
For a shared purchase, test access from the non-purchasing user only after the purchaser’s Console Sharing and Offline Play setting is confirmed. If the purchaser can launch the game but another user cannot, that points toward sharing configuration rather than a missing purchase on the owner’s account.
For Plus access, compare the entitlement type with the current subscription and catalog status. Do not use a catalog listing as proof of a standalone transaction, and do not assume that restoring a license can bring back a benefit that is no longer active or available in the region.
Common mistakes that make restoration seem ineffective
- Restoring from the wrong account: the command refreshes the signed-in account’s licenses. It does not transfer ownership between family members.
- Skipping transaction history: a failed payment or incomplete voucher redemption cannot be repaired by a software refresh.
- Confusing hidden with deleted: a hidden title is still associated with the account and needs to be unhidden in Game Library.
- Assuming Plus covers every title: subscription access and catalog access have their own conditions and do not replace an independent Store purchase.
- Ignoring the one-console sharing limit: Console Sharing and Offline Play can be enabled on only one PS5 for the purchaser at a time.
- Repeating the command during an outage: a Store or account-service problem can prevent an otherwise valid entitlement from being confirmed.
Which restore route should you use?
| Situation | Best entry point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The game is missing from the library | Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses | The general command lets you refresh the account’s relevant licenses even when the title is not visible. |
| The game tile is visible on the home screen or in Game Library | Highlight the title, press Options, choose Restore License | The per-game command is a direct shortcut for the visible title. |
| The transaction is absent or incomplete | Transaction-history and purchase checks | A restore cannot repair a purchase that did not complete. |
| The game came from PlayStation Plus | Check subscription status and catalog availability first | Plus access depends on the qualifying benefit and, for catalog games, continued catalog inclusion. |
| Another user purchased the game | Check the purchaser’s Console Sharing and Offline Play setting | The purchaser’s account must have sharing enabled on this PS5. |
If the game is still missing after restoration
Do not repeatedly restore licenses without identifying the entitlement problem. Follow this escalation sequence instead.
Check PlayStation service status
A Store or account-service outage can prevent the PS5 from confirming ownership even when the purchase is valid. Check the official PlayStation status information before treating a temporary service failure as a damaged license.
Install current PS5 system software
Make sure the console is running current system software. Sony’s troubleshooting guidance includes updating the console as part of resolving download and missing-content problems. Menu labels and service behavior can change as system software is updated, so use the current on-screen wording.
Recheck activation and sharing
For a shared purchase, return to the purchasing account and confirm that Console Sharing and Offline Play is enabled on this PS5. If the purchaser recently changed consoles, the previous PS5 may still hold the activation. The sharing setting is separate from restoring licenses and must be correct for other users on this console to access the purchaser’s downloaded games offline.
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Use Sony’s Safe Mode troubleshooting only when appropriate
Sony’s missing-content guidance also points to Safe Mode options for clearing the console cache and rebuilding the database. These are system-maintenance steps, not license purchases. Follow the current official Safe Mode instructions exactly, including the option names and the required controller connection, rather than relying on an older menu sequence.
Clearing cache or rebuilding the database should be considered after the account, transaction, hidden-game, subscription, sharing, status, and system-software checks. Those earlier checks determine whether the problem is actually with the console’s local database.
Use the symptom to choose the next check
| What you see | Most useful check | Likely explanation to test |
|---|---|---|
| The game is nowhere in Game Library | Purchasing account, transaction history, and hidden games | You may be using the wrong account, the transaction may not have completed, or the title may be hidden. |
| The game is visible but locked or says you do not own it | Restore the individual license, then verify the purchasing account | The console may need to refresh the account’s entitlement. |
| The game was obtained through Plus | Check the subscription and, for catalog access, current catalog membership | The benefit may no longer be active or the catalog listing may have changed. |
| Another user bought the game | Sign in as the purchaser and check Console Sharing and Offline Play | Sharing may be enabled on another PS5 or not enabled for this console. |
| Several purchased items are missing | Account, service-status, software, and license checks | A broader account or service synchronization issue is more plausible than a single-game listing problem. |
What information to collect before contacting Support
If the game remains inaccessible after the official checks, contact PlayStation Support. Have a precise record ready so the problem can be reproduced without guesswork:
- The exact error code, if one appears.
- The account used to buy or redeem the game.
- The transaction date and the entry shown in transaction history.
- Whether the title was a standalone purchase, a Plus benefit, a catalog game, or another user’s shared purchase.
- The exact steps that produced the problem, including whether you used the Settings route or the per-game Options route.
- The date and time of an access attempt.
- A screenshot or video of the missing title, lock message, error screen, or relevant library view, if possible.
Support can then distinguish an account entitlement issue from a Store-service problem, a subscription condition, a sharing configuration, or a console database fault. Keep the original error wording intact; paraphrasing it can omit information needed for diagnosis. If more than one title is affected, list each title and whether the same account owns all of them.
Important limits and regional considerations
The menu path above is the current PS5 workflow documented by PlayStation Support, with the support material reviewed on October 13, 2026. The console-sharing guidance was served from PlayStation’s Canada support locale, while the broader troubleshooting material reflects the US PS5 workflow. Menu labels, service availability, subscription benefits, and catalog membership can vary by account region and can change over time.
No physical product is required to restore a license or verify a Store entitlement. The operation is performed through the PS5 account and system menus. If the game is a Plus catalog title, confirm its current availability for your region before assuming that a missing listing indicates a broken purchase.
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- Sign in to the account that purchased or redeemed the game.
- Confirm the transaction in that account’s history.
- Check hidden games in Game Library.
- Identify whether access came from a standalone purchase, Plus benefit, Plus catalog, or another user’s shared purchase.
- For shared access, verify the purchaser’s Console Sharing and Offline Play setting on this PS5.
- Run Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, or use the title’s Options > Restore License command when the game is visible.
- If necessary, check service status, update PS5 system software, follow the current Safe Mode cache/database guidance, and contact Support with the error details and evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will restoring licenses delete my PS5 saves or installed games?
No. Sony says restoring licenses does not affect your data. It refreshes account entitlements; it is not a factory reset or a reinstall.
Which account should run Restore Licenses?
Use the account that purchased or redeemed the game. For a shared purchase, sign in as the purchaser when checking the license and Console Sharing and Offline Play setting.
What if the game does not appear anywhere in Game Library?
Confirm the purchasing account and transaction first, then check the account’s hidden games. Use the general Settings route even when the title is not visible.
Does an active PlayStation Plus subscription restore a game I bought separately?
No. Plus checks apply to games obtained through a Plus benefit or catalog. A standalone purchase must be present in the purchasing account’s transaction history.
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Can two PS5 consoles use the same purchaser’s Console Sharing and Offline Play setting?
Sony says the setting can be enabled on only one PS5 at a time. Disable it on the old console before activating a new one for shared access.
Should I restore the base game or an add-on?
Select the relevant game or add-on licenses in the general restore screen. Restoring an entitlement does not change which account purchased downloadable content.
What should I do if restoring licenses does not work?
Check PlayStation service status, install current PS5 system software, recheck sharing, and follow Sony’s current Safe Mode cache and database guidance. Then contact Support with the error code, steps, time, and screenshots or video if possible.
Is a physical disc or repair tool required?
No. License restoration and entitlement checks are performed through the PS5 account and system menus.
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Start with the purchasing account and its transaction history, then check hidden games and identify whether access came from a purchase, PlayStation Plus, or another user’s sharing. Run Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, or use the visible title’s Options > Restore License shortcut. If access is still missing, verify sharing, service status, system software, and Safe Mode guidance before contacting PlayStation Support with complete error details.
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