Sony Working on New Avatar Creation System

A recent patent filed by Sony indicates that the company is developing a new way for players to create virtual avatars. This new technology could facilitate the in-depth customization of in-game characters, though it's not clear which of Sony's upcoming gaming endeavors this could be connected to.

Despite Sony's recent stock value dive and the controversy surrounding comments about the PS5 entering the «latter stage» of its life cycle, the PlayStation brand is still going strong. The success of the console has been buttressed by a steady stream of strong first-party exclusives, as was the case for the PS4, but there's evidence to suggest that Sony's strategy is shifting a bit, with the company doubling down on multiplayer, live-service experiences. These online games, along with PlayStation's VR initiatives, suggest a strong new direction for the brand, built on new technologies.

One of these new technologies is something called «image based avatar customization,» according to a recent patent filed by Sony. This follows a 2022 Sony patent regarding avatar creation, which set the stage for customization built around facial scanning. This provision is included in the new patent, though the tech's definition has been expanded to include «real world objects» as well as «human body features,» indicating that Sony could allow players to scan non-human objects for personalization purposes.

Broadly speaking, the concept of scanning human faces into game worlds isn't new, with sports franchises like NBA 2K offering prominent examples of this sort of character-creation tool. However, Sony owning and developing such technology places it in a much different context. While the specific applications of the technology are not clear, it could connect to the next slate of Sony first-party exclusives, especially as the company bets on multiplayer, live-service games, which are a natural fit for true-to-life player avatars. The same can be said for VR titles: avatars based on player face