Sony files new patent to do away with loading screens altogether

Sony has revealed several details about the upcoming PlayStation 5 console, including a super-fast SSD that significantly minimises load times. However, a recent patent filed by Sony may indicate the company is looking to do away with load times altogether.

Sony first showcased the quick load times of the PS5 in May on a demo of Marvel’s Spider-Man. The demo Sony showed off featured considerably faster load times than the version of Spider-Man running on the PS4 Pro. The new patented technology is titled; “System and method for dynamically loading game software for smooth gameplay”.

The technology will work by loading data for a new scenario before the actual loading screen appears, bypassing it altogether. The exact description of the patent reads: “A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to another game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that gameplay is not interrupted.”

The core technology of the patent tracks the player’s direction of movement and uses the information to narrow down where and when the player’s going to reach the load screen and load it in the next set of data accordingly. This will ensure a seamless transition between different environments in the game. Eliminating loading screens will greatly benefit open world games.

The patent filed by Sony may not make it to the PlayStation 5, considering the time of its filing. However, players can be sure that the new patent will make it to PS5 Pro or PS 6 consoles. And, while “no loading screens” is not a confirmed feature of the upcoming PS5, here’s what we do know:

• Super-fast SSD
• Ray tracing support
• 8K graphics supports
• 4K graphics at 120Hz refresh rate
• Backwards compatibility with PS4 games
• Custom 8-core AMD Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU
• Dedicated chip for 3D Audio