Sony Patent AI smurfing PlayStation, Digi Mart USA News: Sony has filed a patent application that could help address smurfing, the practice in which skilled players create new accounts to play against newcomers. According to a report published on November 9, 2026 by Notebookcheck, the application was published by the USPTO as US 2026/0346147 A1.
Instead of relying on account history, the described system would analyze how people actually play. An AI model would study input habits, such as favorite button combinations and the timing between consecutive presses, and build a unique behavioral profile for each player.
When a new account starts at the beginner level, the game would compare its inputs against stored profiles to look for a likely match.
According to the report, if a match is found, the system could pull the stats and skill rating from the player’s main account and apply them to the new one. The supposed beginner would then be matched with opponents based on a similar skill level rather than easy wins.
The patent also addresses boosting scams, in which a veteran poses as a beginner to carry weaker players to inflated results, whether or not payment is involved. Sony says the technology would let publishers confirm such cases quickly, after which accounts could be moved into a separate matchmaking pool or banned for repeat violations.
The report notes several concerns. The system would need to continuously collect and analyze controller or keyboard inputs, which raises privacy questions.
Shared consoles or accounts could also confuse the model, for example when a household member with different skill levels uses another person’s account. The patent describes ways to address these issues, but how the system would work in practice remains to be seen.
