- Sony patented new ‘Ghost Player’ AI technology that will play PlayStation games itself when users are blocked
- The AI system would train on gameplay clips from YouTube and Twitch, as well as data from the PlayStation Network.
- The Ghost AI would analyze a player’s game to identify the scenario in which they are trying to progress, then process the game data to find the best solution.
Sony has patented new AI technology that will take control of PlayStation games when the player is stuck.
As reported by BoingBoing, the patent, initially filed in September 2024, details a new AI-generated system dubbed “Ghost Player” that would be capable of generating AI-powered “ghosts” to assist players.
Essentially, the “AI Ghost” would demonstrate how to progress through a level if a player got stuck, or take full control and progress through the storyline instead.
Sony explained in the filing that the AI will be trained using past gameplay videos from YouTube and Twitch, as well as data from the PlayStation Network, to find the best solution and fix the problem.
“Some solutions include using a character that a user can follow. However, the character is usually a graphic image or described image of a previous player who played the game and the user must follow the character by watching the movements that occurred (including movements and interactions that are not relevant to the user’s current gaming scenarios),” Sony explained.
“This, however, is not very useful for helping in real time a player who is having difficulty with a specific game scenario or throughout the player’s specific game path. This is because the character does not know specifically what the player is playing or the user’s game context.
“Additionally, the character typically only performs the actions of a previous player. Additionally, the character is only featured for general gameplay scenarios related to the game, and not in relation to the player’s current game context.”
It is also said that the AI system would be able to analyze a player’s game state data to identify the scenario in which they are trying to progress. The AI would then process the gameplay to find the best solution.
“Relevant interactivity concerns the context of the player’s game, not just another player’s prior game,” the patent states.
“The ghost character can therefore be controlled by the Al assist engine during gameplay and provide the player with visual illustrations of how certain game scenarios are played so that the player-controlled character can progress through the game.”
This seems like an interesting idea, but what about, say, FromSoftware games, which don’t offer an easy mode? If I’m stuck on one Ancient Ring boss, will the Ghost AI take over and beat it for me, thus minimizing all my hard-earned progress?
Although the patent mentions ways that AI Ghost can offer “limited support”, as well as more detailed and comprehensive support, would this be a system that I could opt out of altogether?
The patent doesn’t mention any plans to implement this feature in future PlayStation hardware, but it’s hard to ignore how quickly AI is making its way into the gaming space, such as Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot feature, which was introduced last year as an AI companion.
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