Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) recently filed a patent that shows it could expand the multiplayer game to much more. And while this doesn’t confirm anything concrete, it does give an idea of where Sony’s head is at.
The patent abstract calls for a technique that scales cooperative and competitive games “for dozens or even dozens of people playing at the same time.” The players then played the game on a cinema screen, giving 100 players as an example of the potential size.
Events (such as The Game Awards) are sometimes shown in select theaters across the US. Something like this, but playing a video game can bring a strong sense of community (perhaps not unlike competing in EVO fighting games).
“The potential exists to create a local multiplayer experience in large venues such as movie theaters,” the patent continues. It also notes the potential of creating local multiplayer games in AR (augmented reality), which presents “new challenges” in creating “multiple slightly different” perspectives of the same game.
What greater local multiplayer could mean for PlayStation
As noted in the patent itself, local multiplayer is typically set to a maximum of four players to match the average (or perceived average) household size. If Sony does indeed do something about the patent, the massive increase in local players creates some interesting possibilities.
Sony has tried its hand at massively multiplayer games in the past. PlayStation Home is one such example and another is the online game Zipper Interactive MAG (which had 256 player multiplayer). Sony is currently working on entering the live services space with multiplayer spin-off games Horizon and The Last of Us.
This patent news is also featured in Larian’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions Baldur’s gate 3 will have split screen co-op. While one game won’t undo the general shift to online gaming in recent years, Sony’s push to expand the horizons of local co-op could bring it back into vogue.