Sony Applies for Patent to Enable Transfer of NFTs Across Gaming Ecosystems

Patent allows transfer of in-game assets across different gaming ecosystems and hardware like VR headsets, computers and smartphones.

Entertainment and gaming industry giant Sony has applied for a patent to enable the use and transfer of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) between different games, devices and consoles and provide a unified Web3 gaming experience.

The patent - entitled "NFT Framework for Transferring and Using Digital Assets Between Game Platforms" and published on 16 March, although it was filed in September last year - would allow players to transfer their in-game assets between different devices, including virtual reality headsets, smart TVs, tablets, computers and smartphones. The patent application also mentions that the NFTs could be used across different generations of PlayStation devices, for example from PS4 to PS5. The assets that may be involved are diverse, ranging from in-game skins, avatars and artwork, to weapons and "video game skills."

In the same patent application, Sony mentioned that the proposed system would also be compatible with gaming products outside its own ecosystem, including Xbox and cloud-based video games, saying that "the standardized format may be readable to insert the digital asset in different computer simulations that may include different video games of different titles [and/or] via different video game platforms such as, for example, PlayStation and Xbox." This interoperability would allow the full transfer and use of assets across different gaming ecosystems.

The patent also describes ways to identify specific instances of fraudulent behaviour, such as when users attempt to acquire NFTs and other in-game assets by repeatedly performing certain actions or completing certain tasks.