Sony Interactive Entertainment has published an intriguing patent for a new type of controller whose buttons can alter their resistance and tactile feel – becoming harder or softer – to adapt to what’s being shown on screen. Sony initially filed the patent application with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations’ patents agency, in November 2024. It was officially published in May this year, as uncovered by Cheat Happens.
According to the patent, the controller would adapt – either based on gameplay or personal preferences – by changing the hardness and resistance of the underlying mechanisms that respond to each button press. This is achieved using a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer, a material capable of hardening and softening based on inputs from attached magnets.
Said magnets can be controlled by the game, creating a magnetic field that varies in strength based on the action on screen. Sony’s designs also indicate potentially utilising fluid-filled membranes to achieve a similar effect.
Elsewhere in the patent, there’s a look at a different design that allows the player’s finger to “sink” into the button itself, and for the button to harden around it. This could perhaps be used to simulate being grabbed by an enemy, or getting stuck in mud, though the usage isn’t entirely clear from the language.
Sony’s proposed designs call back to the patents that preceded the unveiling of the PS5’s DualSense controller. The DualSense is unique in multiple ways, chiefly in its use of haptic motors and tiny speakers to produce a level of tactile feedback no other controller has. The adaptive triggers were similarly innovative, enabling developers to, for instance, tune how hard the player needs to squeeze based on the weapon being used in-game.
Though Sony’s newly unearthed controller design, with its adjustable hardness, may seem a little difficult to image now, Sony has already confirmed it’s working on its next-generation PlayStation. So if the patent is granted, it could be a core feature of an updated DualSense controller.
Although Sony hasn’t decided on a price or launch date for the PS6 yet, current reports suggest a 2028 or 2029 release for the console, which is far enough away that the intriguing tech could make it into a production unit.
