According to a statement Does it play? gave to Kotaku, the license-checks may have been introduced to combat refund scams, but were designed to convert into unlimited licenses afterward.
That appears to be the case, with an SIE spokesperson telling GameSpot the following:
“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual. A one-time online check is required to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are required.”
So yes, it was a big brain move by Sony to make piracy more appealing by screwing with paying gamers.
So the rumor that I heard (unfounded YouTube video, sadly) is that Sony had an issue with people running refund scams. People with usually-offline PS5s would buy a game, install it on their PlayStation, then pull the network cable, and request a refund on a secondary device. They get their money back, and then can play the game infinitely afterwards.
So, the fix is that a newly purchased PlayStation game must check in at least once after the 14-day refund period has ended. Once they’ve done that, it becomes a permanent license that can be played offline. In the YouTube video I saw, they claimed some people had reproduced this explanation.
Now, this sounds somewhat plausible to me. But if anyone were to reply “Bullshit, they’re backtracking” I wouldn’t fight you on it. We’ve certainly seen some controlling, domineering shit from game makers.
I will say that the specific case of military gamers is a key one. It’s very bad PR to give them a hard time, and they are usually offline wherever their base is. So, there’s often some investment in giving them some path to keep playing, which is what makes me more convinced in the rudimentary explanation.