This period saw 5 filed patent applications across game engines and development technology, with NetEase filing 2, while The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, and EA each filed 1.
NetEase described systems for seamless AI pathfinding across procedurally generated terrain and a mechanic allowing eliminated players to recover lost gear before opponents can loot it. EA detailed an architecture that separates game simulation from rendering through independent state streams, while Nintendo patented automatic voxel-based collision clearing to prevent characters from becoming trapped in dynamic terrain. The Pokemon Company filed for a sleep-integrated game mechanic where daytime activity and sleep quality combine to calculate rewards.
NetEase received 2 patents addressing different aspects of multiplayer game systems. The first tackles a common problem in procedurally generated environments: when terrain tiles are stitched together visually, AI characters often can't navigate across the seams because the underlying pathfinding data doesn't align. NetEase's approach processes navigation graphs alongside the visual assembly, using geometric reference lines to ensure that walkable areas connect properly at tile boundaries. The second patent introduces a redemption mechanic for eliminated players in competitive shooters and battle royales. When a player dies, their dropped items enter a protected state that prevents other players from collecting them while the eliminated player enters a separate mini-scene where they can attempt to retrieve their gear within a time limit, turning item loss from a binary outcome into a competitive recovery opportunity.
EA received 1 patent describing an engine architecture that decouples the simulation logic from the rendering pipeline. The presentation layer can generate frames by interpolating between two state snapshots from the simulation without needing to request additional simulation updates, which separates frame rate from simulation tick rate. The system also allows multiple simulation engines to run at different cycle rates independently of each other and the renderer, providing architectural flexibility for managing complex game states that involve multiple environments or systems.
The Pokemon Company received 1 patent for a sleep-tracking game mechanic structured around multiplicative rewards. Players accumulate a parameter during daytime gameplay that then multiplies with a separately calculated sleep quality metric to determine the rewards received the following morning. This design means that neither strong daytime performance nor high-quality sleep alone produces maximum rewards, instead requiring players to optimize both waking activity and rest as part of a single interconnected system.
Nintendo received 1 patent for handling collision in dynamically morphing voxel terrain. When terrain density changes, there's a risk that the player character becomes trapped inside newly solidified geometry. Nintendo's method performs a secondary voxel update that proactively clears space around the player before regenerating the collision mesh, preventing entrapment without requiring teleportation or manual correction after the fact.
All data sourced from USPTO patent filings. Google Patents may take several weeks to index recent publications. If a link is unavailable, search for the patent number at USPTO Patent Public Search.