This year is shaping up to be the ‘year of new patents’ for PlayStation. Last month, it was revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment had acquired patents both for a hardware based V-Sync, as well as a backward compatibility patent that will likely be put to use by the time the PS5 rolls around. Now, it appears that Sony’s latest patent is focusing more on combating cheaters, as the company has officially filed for a “detecting Lag Switch Cheating” patent.

The news comes by way of MP1ST, which reported that Sony has filed a patent for “detecting lag switch cheating in games” at the United States Patent Office. For those unfamiliar with lag switches, a lag switch is a piece of equipment that is installed on a user’s network that allows the user to control network delay to their advantage. The lag switch is typically used to jump around the screen to avoid being hit by the opposing player, and as such is considered cheating.

Here is the official description for the “detecting lag switch cheating in games” technology per the patent office:

1. A method for detecting lag switch cheating in a gaming network, the method comprising: receiving data packets from a plurality of client devices at a network server in the gaming network, wherein the received data packets include a time stamp and correspond to respective client device activity in the gaming network; identifying latency for each received data packet, wherein the latency for each received data packet is a time between a respective time stamp and a time the received data packet is received at the network server; evaluating latency of a set of data packets from a first client device to detect changes in the latency among the set of data packets; identifying that a cheat detection event has occurred when additional latency identified from evaluating the set of data packets meets a predefined threshold; and moving a character of the first client device associated with the cheat detection event from a current location to a location of the character prior to the cheat detection event.”

While some may assume that this patent is for the PS4, lag switching typically tends to be a PC issue rather than one with consoles. That said, based on Sony’s recent V-sync patent, the PlayStation 5 may have an architecture more closely resembling that of a PC, so the company may be working proactively with this new patent. We’ll just have to wait and see.

So, thoughts on the new PlayStation patent? Do you think that it is for the PS4 or the upcoming PS5? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!