Sony Patent Describes Stream Viewers Controlling a Cursor on the Streamer's Screen

What happened

Sony has been granted a US patent for a system that lets livestream viewers point things out on a streamer's screen and even change what happens in the game. Titled "Adaptive screen share pointer and reactions during gameplay," US 12752199 was filed in October 2023 and appears to have been issued on October 6. Sony is a video game and electronics company based in Minato.

A viewer gets a cursor that shows up over the streamer's gameplay, and its look changes with the game being played. The patent gives examples like marking a boss's weak point or showing where to aim a shot.

The patent describes game actions reserved for viewers who aren't controlling the character, such as triggering a lever or revealing a hidden item, and publishers would define these through an SDK (the toolkit a developer builds on a platform with). Only one cursor may appear at a time, with control passed between viewers through a queue based on engagement points.