Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Sony has filed an interesting new patent this week that will utilize AI technology to try to reduce lag in gaming. The patent specifically focuses on AI to predict player inputs via a camera and study of their behavior. If it can learn about the player and their interactions, it may be able to reduce lag in online games.
Sony’s latest patent was filed and published late in 2024, but was discovered just recently, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. The pantent, numbered WO2025010132 and named Timed Input/Action Release, goes into detail about the use of AI to learn player behavior and predict inputs before they even happen through machine learning, as shared below:
The system sounds suspiciously like rollback netcode in fighting games with an AI twist. For those who don’t know, a fighting game with rollback netcode anticipates player action and on-screen flow of information in real-time, leading to what should be a cleaner online match experience. If the players deviate from expectation, the game “rolls back” to the place where the misstep occurred to correct it and the match moves on. It’s hard to say if that is the foundation of this new AI-based patent, but it sounds almost too similar to be a coincidence. After all, rollback netcode has been a popular form of online connectivity in the likes of Guilty Gear Strive, Street Fighter 6, and Tekken 8.
It's hard to say how well this philosophy can be applied to other genres of games because we haven't really seen rollback netcode outside of fighting games. That said, if Sony can pull off what rollback does for those games in other genres, that seems well worth watching. Stay tuned for further updates and news.