The PS5 controller can be used by three people at the same time, new Sony patent reveals

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The Xbox Series X (opens in new tab) may have just had its official debut, but a newly discovered PS5 (opens in new tab) patent may have revealed more about Sony’s own next-gen console, and more specifically its new controller, the DualShock 5 (opens in new tab). 

As first reported by LetsGoDigital (opens in new tab), a patent filed by Sony with the USPTO in mid-2018 was recently approved earlier this month, and describes the “Bifurcation of shared controls and passing controls in a video game.”

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PS5 specs (opens in new tab) – what’s inside the next-generation PlayStation console?

According to the patent (opens in new tab), Sony is looking to develop a controller which can more easily be shared and used by multiple people at once, with different buttons assigned to different players. 

This “split controller gameplay” might see one user in command of the analogue sticks, another controlling the triggers, and the third pressing the DualShock’s face buttons, together operating a single character on the same screen. 

While certain party games like Overcooked 2 (opens in new tab) already allow for this kind shared experience, a controller which can be customised to enable split controls for any title sounds like Sony is interested in exploring this idea even further with PS5. 

The patent also speaks of turn-based sharing via the cloud, in which different PlayStation Network users play the same game on rotation, and there’s even a hint that the upcoming next-gen PS VR headset (opens in new tab) in the works could also be integrated more closely into this shared experience. 

Frankly, it’s all a little bit vague, but the images included in the patent give you a pretty good idea of what Sony is aiming for, if this pertains to PS5 at all, that is. We’ll let you know when we hear anything more official but, for now, check out team GR’s first impressions of the Xbox Series X (opens in new tab). 

For more, check out more upcoming PS4 games (opens in new tab) for 2019 and beyond, or watch our latest episode of Dialogue Options below.