Sony Patents 'Auto-Play' Game Mode

Amid the ongoing Helldivers 2 controversy, Sony has made a small but crucial change to the PlayStation Network's FAQs. While Helldivers 2 has been an enormous success in its initial launch period, some gamers have been less than pleased by developer Arrowhead Game Studios and publisher Sony over the last couple of days.

As Helldivers 2 endures thousands of negative Steam user reviews prompted by mandatory PlayStation Network account linking, community managers from developer Arrowhead have been rushing around handing out context and clarification to disgruntled players. A key point comes from community manager Twinbeard on Discord: "It's Sony's decision, not ours."

Helldivers 2 players who’ve been playing the game on Windows PC via Steam since launch will now need a PlayStation Network account to access the game. Helldivers 2 publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment posted a notice to the game’s Steam page on Thursday informing Steam players of the change.

Sony has sparked a backlash after announcing plans to force Helldivers 2 Steam players to connect to a PlayStation Network account.

A touch of the cooperative gameplay seen in smash-hit shooter Helldivers 2 is coming to Halo Infinite, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of players. The new mode is being created entirely using Forge mode, the native Halo Infinite level editor.

While Dragon’s Dogma 2 topped US software charts for March 2024 per Circana’s Matt Piscatella, Helldivers 2 wasn’t far behind. It ranked in second place and is still the best-selling premium title of the year to date. Furthermore, it’s the seventh best-selling title (in terms of lifetime dollar sales) published by Sony, despite only being on sale for two months.

Sony India has announced its ‘Summer Sale' offers on the newly launched PlayStation 5 Slim (PS5 Slim). The console was launched in India on April 5 at the same price point as the existing PS5 and it has already received a price drop. To entice new gamers and keep ahead in the console wars, both Sony and Microsoft announce special offers and bundles on their consoles periodically that include games, accessories, and more. With the latest Summer Sale, the Sony PS5 Slim has received a price drop.

According to a recently published patent, Sony is working on a program that would record in-game and voice chat audio and then convert those sounds into haptic feedback vibrations to be felt on a controller. A number of recent patents from Sony have focused on enhancements to the PlayStation controller's haptic feedback capabilities, and this latest filing has once again showcased the company's efforts to expand the use of haptic features.

Sony loves filing patents for gaming ideas that'll, more than likely, never come to fruition. It's done it again with a recent listing that focuses on the idea of «auto-playing portions of a video game».

Sony has today confirmed a new PlayStation overlay that will ship on its PC ports, with next month's Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut being the first to use it. You'll be able to access it from Windows PCs from either the in-game menu or by pressing «Shift + F1», which will pull up a new screen housing your PSN profile, friends list, and Trophies.

Building on an article published overnight, The Verge has another post that largely reiterates past reporting from Insider Gaming covering what Sony has planned for its PS5 Pro and the upgrades it will bring to current games. Reported first at the start of April but now confirmed through more sources, Sony is reportedly allowing developers to tag their titles as «PS5 Pro Enhanced» after applying one of a few different upgrades.

The team at Nixxes Software has laid out the crossplay and system requirements for Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut on PC. It has also detailed a new optional PlayStation UI overlay for PC, and it all sounds pretty great.