This period's game mechanics and gameplay category includes 6 granted patents across 4 companies: Truist Bank (2), Nintendo (1), Bandai Namco (1), Konami (1), and NetEase (1).
Konami's patents cover zone-restricted card placement rules for digital card games, while Bandai Namco patented a system allowing player characters to complete movement and healing actions toward locked-on targets without interruption from enemy attacks. Nintendo patented a system that filters and displays activity logs from shared game spaces, showing players only the changes other users made to areas they both inhabit, and NetEase patented a dynamic map marking system that reveals opponent locations based on suspicion values tied to player actions in stealth adversarial games. Truist Bank's 2 patents both describe systems that restrict video game access when users miss financial goals, using mini-games as engagement mechanisms to drive saving behavior.
Konami received 1 patent covering the placement mechanics of digital card games. The system establishes differentiated rules for where cards can be positioned depending on which deck zone they originate from, with Extra Deck cards confined to a limited set of shared zones while Main Deck cards occupy zones exclusive to each player. A further layer of complexity applies to Composite Monster Cards, whose valid placement zones shift depending on whether the card is face-up or face-down, adding a conditional dimension to tactical decision-making.
NetEase received 1 patent for a map revelation system designed for stealth adversarial games. Rather than giving defending players full visibility or none at all, the system ties map information to a suspicion value that accumulates as opponents perform actions and collect clues. As that value rises, the defending player gains limited, gameplay-driven visibility into where opponents are located, addressing the information imbalance that defines the stealth genre without collapsing it entirely.
Nintendo received 1 patent focused on how players receive information about shared in-game spaces. The system filters activity logs to surface only the changes that other players made to areas a given player also occupies, separating events that alter the state of a shared space (such as placing objects or constructing facilities) from personal, non-state-changing actions like collecting items. The result is a personalized recap feed that keeps players connected to shared spaces without surfacing activity that has no bearing on them.
Bandai Namco received 1 patent addressing a common friction point in action gameplay: the interruption of deliberate movement toward a target. The system grants a temporary immunity window while a player character executes a lock-on approach sequence, whether that involves closing distance or performing a healing action, so that enemy attacks during that window cannot cancel the movement. This allows timing-based decisions to resolve as intended rather than being cut short by incoming fire.
Truist Bank received 2 patents, both centered on linking video game access to real-world financial behavior. One describes a system that restricts broader game access when a user falls short of a savings goal, while carving out a mini-game as a conditional exemption that remains accessible either when a qualifying financial action is taken or after a set amount of time has passed. The other patent covers essentially the same access-restriction framework but foregrounds the bidirectional relationship between account activity and game permissions, where game deprivation functions as the primary lever for encouraging savings compliance rather than offering rewards for meeting goals.
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.