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I traded in my copy of overwatch and deleted the game. Would I be able to reinstall it from the library?

Kevin McKenzie
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Mr.Skeleton
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    As far as I know, 'disc' and 'digital' are different versions of the same game in Playstation land. So I guess no. – Faxter Feb 28 '19 at 21:43
  • Could you possibly edit this to give us more detail? – Ginge Mar 01 '19 at 01:08
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    You didn't "lose" the disc, you "sold" the disc (in exchange for whatever you traded it for). By doing so, your license to use the software went with it. – KutuluMike Mar 01 '19 at 02:36
  • Can you edit the title to include PS4 game, because the answer for a computer game is a legal grey area, but I assure you the answer to can you is a yes. Supposedly, morally, you may not. – Mazura Mar 01 '19 at 04:12
  • Are you asking whether you are able to, or whether it is legal to do so? – Acccumulation Mar 01 '19 at 17:04
  • @KutuluMike Fortunately, in the United States, you don't need a license to use software just as you don't need a license to use a book. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 19:34
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    @DavidSchwartz I understood you did need a license for software? at very least for a PS4 game, as much of the game content is copied from the Blu-ray onto the console's HDD, which would institute copyright infringement without a license. – Vality Mar 01 '19 at 20:16
  • @Vality No, it would not. You cannot charge someone with copyright infringement for merely engaging in the ordinary and expected use of a work. This is why you can color in a coloring book without being charged with copyright infringement for making a derivative work. In the United States, copyright law does not require you to have any license to use a work in the ordinary and expected way. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 20:32
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    @DavidSchwartz that is only true if you are the owner of the copy of the software you are using; once you sell/give/trade your copy to someone else, you no longer own a copy of it, and your "implied" license to copy it for normal use (e.g. copying it from CD into memory) it is gone. The recipient now has it. – KutuluMike Mar 01 '19 at 20:45
  • @KutuluMike There is no "implied license for normal use". Normal use doesn't require a license, period. All that it requires is that the original was lawfully made which it was in this case. Normal use of a copy made with the authority of the copyright holder cannot violate copyright law unless some prior act already violated copyright law. US law just doesn't regulate ordinary use. (Unless you have a court citation to the contrary. But in fact, courts have rejected pretty much every attempt to try to make ordinary use a copyright violation. Some other act has to violate.) – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 21:11
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    @DavidSchwartz Using software without possessing a license to use it doesn't fall under copyright law. It's a completely different branch of law, and it is quite illegal (though whether it's worth it for the licenser to pursue legal action is a different matter entirely). And you can be sure that most every form of software nowadays, particularly ones sold commercially) have an explicit license that you as the owner implicitly agree to upon purchase and use. And, generally speaking, part of those licenses say that if you no longer own the product, you are no longer allowed to use it. – Abion47 Mar 01 '19 at 23:04
  • @DavidSchwartz Also most of your argument applies to software that is distributed conventionally (i.e. as an installable/downloadable executable). The trend in games and other forms of software nowadays is headed toward games/software-as-a-service, which comes with its own licensing and usage laws and practices. – Abion47 Mar 01 '19 at 23:05
  • @Abion47 Oh, a "completely different branch of law"? What branch would that be exactly? The rest of your response is not really responsive to what I said. The claim was that he needed a license to use the software and that is not true. I'm responding to a claim that by selling the software he lost some license that he is required to have to use the software and that is the part that is not true. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 23:37
  • @DavidSchwartz What you are referring to specifically is under U.S. Copyright law, specifically Section 117 of the Copyright Act which states that the owner of a copy of software has the right to use it even if they don't have a license for it. However, in this case, I still have to say you are wrong because, if you sold your copy of a game, you are no longer the "owner" and are thus no longer have that right. As such, unless you have a separate license that states otherwise, even "normal use" would be technically illegal. – Abion47 Mar 01 '19 at 23:49
  • And as this relates "the rest of my response", games/software-as-a-service is set up specifically so that the users aren't owners of their respective copies. Without owners, no one has the right to use software they lose their license for. – Abion47 Mar 01 '19 at 23:49
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    @Abion47 No, that's not what I'm referring to. What I'm referring to is the absence of any requirement to have a license to use a copyrighted work. You don't need a license to read a book. You don't need a license to color in a coloring book even though that could be argued to be making a derivative work. Copyright law restricts distribution, making of derivative works, and so on. Other than that, you can do anything no law prohibits you from doing. Your "as a service" argument may or may not be true, but it has nothing to do with whether or not he has some license he needs. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 23:53
  • Your last sentence is also false and misleading. It doesn't matter whether you have or don't have a license. There is no special "right to use the software" that you need. It doesn't matter whether or not you have a specific right to do something if no law prohibits you from doing it. If no law prohibits you, you can just do it. And no law prohibits one from making ordinary use of a copyrighted work provided they didn't already violate copyright law somehow in making or obtaining the work. Nobody gave me any right to breathe air, but I can legally do so because no law says I can't. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 23:54
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – David Schwartz Mar 01 '19 at 23:55

2 Answers2

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No, this is not possible.
Games must have been purchased/downloaded from the PS Store in order to be installed via the library. Physical versions aren't tied to your account in the same way as digital, otherwise I could just sell all of my physical games immediately and redownload them digitally, allowing me to play for practically no cost.

You sold the physical game and therefore no longer own a copy. You must buy a new one. This is unlike digital games, where you obviously cannot sell away your copy, so you are free to redownload it whenever - you still "own" it (or rather, you're purchasing a license to use it, following Sony's Terms and Conditions).

Assuming you've actually deleted all data associated with the physical copy, you shouldn't run into any issues installing/playing the digital version.

Broots Waymb
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    "you still own it" -- until Sony decide that you don't. You're (probably) only buying a limited license to use it. – Roger Lipscombe Mar 01 '19 at 10:12
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    @RogerLipscombe moot point really, since a lot of physical copies nowadays come with a required registration somewhere (steam, other services), which means you cannot use the game if said service decides not to let you play anymore. – private_meta Mar 01 '19 at 11:05
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    @RogerLipscombe - You're probably right. I intentionally oversimplified that aspect. Many services we use today follow a similar model (your don't own a single bit of your digital music library from "X music service", etc.). I didn't feel like digging through Sony's T&C since it's most certainly covered in there, but the licensing details are mostly irrelevant to OP's question. I'll still tweak the language to clear that up a little bit. Just want to keep the answer fairly general and low-level. – Broots Waymb Mar 01 '19 at 13:49
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    I could just sell all of my physical games immediately Heck, you wouldn't even need to worry about the hassle of purchasing a physical copy and then reselling it. If Sony allowed this, you could just "rent" a copy from GameFly or your local RedBox and then play the game forever. – jmbpiano Mar 01 '19 at 17:54
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    @jmbpiano - True, but it depends. I've sold games before at no real loss, so If you find the right buyer you can break near even. Heck, I've even made a tiny profit re-selling some older used games. With renting, you're out that money regardless. But this is all some dumb theoretical world where this is possible and doesn't totally destroy the PS4 game market :) – Broots Waymb Mar 01 '19 at 18:07
  • Not entirely true. I owned a copy of MGS:V on Blu-ray back in 2017. I just now, before writing this message, decided to browse my library and to my surprise, there was MGS:V in digital form for me to Download. It happened for Assassin's Creed:Black Flag as well. Unless I'm forgetting something, it would appear that only publishers get to decide if they want this to happen. – Ryan May 18 '20 at 01:51
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In addition to @BrootsWaymb's answer, even if you didn't delete the game (or managed to download it again), you wouldn't be able to play it.

Physical copies of PS4 games can only be launched with the disk still in the system. The PS4 won't let you play otherwise.

The only options you have at this point are:

  • Buy another physical copy and avoid "losing" the disk. You can reinstall the game at will, as long as the disk's in your PS4's disk drive and still in readable condition. You'd need the disk there anyway, if you intend to play the game.
  • Buy a digital copy. You can re-download the game at will, unless Sony removes it from their servers (like what happened to P.T.). Those situations are extremely rare, though they do happen occasionally. You gain the benefit of not having to swap disks, in return for not being able to resell them.

Of course, there's always the option of simply not playing the game anymore, since you sold it.

Note that the game data are different from the save data. If you deleted the game data, you can easily recover those (as described above). If you delete your save data, on the other hand, there's no going back. You might still have a copy in the cloud if you are a PS Plus member and have the auto-upload option enabled, unless you deleted that one as well, in which case have fun starting the game anew!

Nolonar
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