Platforms & Ecosystems

Sony received 3 patents that explore different ways to connect real-world experiences with digital gaming. One application describes technology that takes data from car trips, including routes, telemetry, and captured images, and uses that information to procedurally generate or modify content in home console games, allowing passengers to continue their in-car gaming sessions at home. Another focuses on physical collectibles with embedded codes that track real-world locations and tie them to digital gameplay, using prior online gaming interactions to create personalized alerts when players who've gamed together are physically nearby. The third application similarly uses embedded codes in physical items, but instead of facilitating meetups, it captures real-world physical activity data and uses that engagement to dynamically alter in-game parameters and progression rather than simply unlocking preset content.

Roblox filed 1 patent for automated abuse reporting in virtual environments. The technology captures 3D scene data and uses ray-casting from avatar bounding boxes to the user's camera position to determine which avatars are actually visible, automatically generating a list of reportable candidates. This approach eliminates the need for users to manually identify offending avatars and provides concrete visual evidence for moderation cases involving avatar appearance, actions, or objects rather than just chat messages.