Just a couple of months after PlayStation’s AI-centric patent was discovered, a similar one filed by Microsoft has been found. The patent, titled “State Management for Video Game Help Sessions,” was filed back in 2024, and eventually published just last month. It describes a system through which players stuck in a game can seek help without leaving the game screen. This help can be provided by a “video game helper”, which can either be AI or a human player.
Players also have plenty of agency with this system, with the option to either accept the updated game state after the helper has done its thing, or return to the original state and try out a solution for themselves. The patent describes a number of methods to provide players help, which can range from simply reviewing controller inputs to help players, or offer more complete help through the use of a cloud-based session that involves game streaming.
“Video game players sometimes seek help from other video game players to overcome in-game difficulties, often by consulting online forums or videos,” explains the patent application. “However, while this type of help is widely available, it takes a great deal of effort for users to seek out the assistance they need to accomplish their goal. Furthermore, these techniques may take the video game players out of the gaming experience while they search for external help content.”
“The disclosed implementations aim to address these issues by providing help sessions to video game players.”
The application includes examples from a number of different gaming genres. It can help players learn how to ride a hoverboard in an adventure game, for example, or find the right driving line in a racing game. The system is also described as being smart enough to figure out which parts of games could potentially trigger conditions to offer a help session. It can do this by, for instance, comparing the “output of the current video game session” with “prior outputs associated with prior help sessions.”
Along with the text descriptions, Microsoft has also submitted plenty of diagrams that showcase how the system would work at large on its systems, as well as how it could potentially be used in different games. One of these charts showcases the flow of data, which can go from a current play session to a helper database that is also connected to evaluation of previous helper sessions.
While Microsoft’s implementation seemingly leaves the door open for more complex uses of neural networks and machine learning, Sony’s patent focuses more on offering passive help, while still leaving the actual gameplay in the player’s hands. The PlayStation-maker’s patent described one case that involved generating an in-game character that players could follow through particularly challenging moments. The “ghost character” was also described as being capable of showing players complex controller inputs that might be required for specific gameplay styles.
As is the case with any gaming-related patents, this one doesn’t necessarily indicate any actual plans to implement new technologies on Microsoft’s part. However, considering Microsoft’s heavy investment into AI, this could also be a sign of things to come for future console releases.
