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Sony have reportedly patented a 'finger-grabbing' controller that physically traps you when your character is stuck.
PlayStation users have had their fair share of unlucky news recently, from another round of PS Plus price hikes to incoming age verification requirements that could lock players out of key social features if they do not comply.
And with no PlayStation 6 on the immediate horizon and President Trump's tariffs complicating the cost picture for future hardware, the road ahead feels a little uncertain. Reports suggest a 2028 or 2029 release for the next-generation console, so there's still a few years to go.
But Sony has not stopped innovating behind the scenes and a series of quietly filed patents suggests the next generation of PlayStation could feel very different to hold.
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Earlier this year, Sony patented an AI ghost feature that can complete difficult sections of a game on a player's behalf. Now, a new patent has emerged that could literally grab hold of you while you play.
According to Cheat Happens, the patent describes a controller with buttons that can be physically changed in real time. It was filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization in November 2024 and published in May this year.
Rather than fixed, uniform buttons, the proposed design would allow individual buttons to become harder or softer depending on what is happening in the game.
The first uses a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer that changes its resistance in response to the surrounding magnets, altering the force needed to press a button, the report noted. The second uses fluid-filled membranes that could change the feel of the button surface to achieve a similar effect.
You can imagine how a reload button could stiffen up to simulate a weapon jamming, or another button could soften to reflect vulnerability or loss of control.
Most notably, the patent reportedly describes a scenario where a player's finger sinks into a button as the material hardens around it. The button would essentially trap the finger, making the player unable to pull free without extra force, which would feel pretty immersive if an enemy grabs your character in-game.
That said, Sony filing this patent does not mean the technology will appear in the PlayStation 6 or any future controller, as many patents don't make it to fruition. But it is interesting to see the kind of innovation Sony is working towards as it gears towards the next generation of PlayStation.
