Sony was recently granted a patent for an “AI generated ghost player” from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This Sony patent describes an AI-controlled character that would appear on-screen to guide the player whenever they get stuck in a video game, though this patent also describes a mode that sees the AI-controlled “ghost” completing entire sections of the game without any input from the player at all.
Much like other big gaming companies like Microsoft and EA, Sony has been dipping its toes into the waters of AI more and more over the last few years. Sony AI, for instance, is an entire branch of the company solely dedicated to researching and developing new AI technologies for the company, and it’s been around since April 2020.
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Sony has published a lot of games for its PS5 platform, and while some are family-friendly, these games offer a stiff challenge to their players.
Sony Patents “AI Generated Ghost Player” Technology
On September 5, 2024, Sony filed a patent for an “AI generated ghost player.” This patent was officially approved and published by WIPO on April 17, 2025, and thanks to a report from tech site BoingBoing on December 29, 2025, all eyes are on the patent once more. The official description Sony provides for this patent begins by explaining the reasoning behind the existence of such a technology, with it claiming that developer-controlled “ghost” characters already exist but that they can only perform specific movements and actions to guide players and that the assistance they give is not tailored specifically for a player’s current issue.
Sony’s AI ghost players, however, would (theoretically) offer assistance for any problem the player is experiencing. It would do this by first training itself by watching gameplay footage, and then by watching the player’s live gameplay to better understand the context surrounding the issue they’re facing.
The AI-controlled ghost character would then assist the player in different ways depending on the mode they have chosen. One mode described in the patent filing would see the AI ghost appear as an outline and move through the environment, showing the player how to proceed. Another described mode would show button inputs alongside the outline’s actions. One described mode would even see the AI-controlled ghost engaging in interactive conversations with the player-character to help guide them through the level. Sony’s patent also describes a “Complete Mode,” whereby the AI-controlled character would actively complete the challenge in the player’s way, essentially playing the game for them.
While Sony’s patent repeatedly refers to this AI-controlled character as a “ghost” or “outline,” the patent’s official description makes it clear that the character could take on a range of forms. According to the document, this ghost could be a simple “shadow,” a “fully animated character,” a “character from a movie,” a user-generated character, or even a “figure from another game.” Customizing this AI ghost character would seemingly be an important part of the process in some games.
Of course, it should be noted that just because Sony has filed this patent doesn’t mean it intends to use it. The patent has been active since April 2025 and Sony has made no official mention of it in any capacity. That said, it wouldn’t be totally out of the realm of possibility for Sony to implement such a technology, with Microsoft having already developed a similar AI-based system.
Back in September 2025, Microsoft began rolling out the Xbox Gaming Copilot (Beta) to Windows PCs and mobile devices. Essentially, the Xbox Gaming Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that tracks your Xbox account history and can provide gaming-related recommendations and real-time tips and solutions while playing a game. It’s not quite an in-game AI assistant that can technically play the game for you, but it’s certainly a major moment for learning AI in the gaming space, and one that could lead to other gaming companies trying to experiment with similar technology.
Source: BoingBoing
