PlayStation working on PS5 update gamers have been desperate to see

Picture it. You’ve been waiting months for the release of a game, perhaps even years. Launch day is finally here. Your pre-order turns up. You insert the disc, buzzing with hype. The only issue is, amidst that hype, you forgot about those blasted install times.

We’ve all done it, and install times are only getting longer. A major release can take you four to five hours to install these days, if it boasts a hefty file size. I recently sat down to play God of War Ragnarök’s new Valhalla DLC, completely forgetting that I’d need to reinstall the main game. I quickly realised that with a long, long wait ahead of me, my evening plan to play Valhalla would most certainly have to be rescheduled. There is hope though, for PlayStation gamers at least. Sony is seemingly working on a new download mechanism that allows you to play the game in chunks whilst it downloads.

Speaking of Valhalla, take a look at the epic DLC in action below.

This isn’t the first time Sony has attempted to tackle this problem. As I’m sure you’re aware, PlayStation consoles install essential files first so you can start playing the game without needing to wait for the full installation to complete. That being said, reaching that point can still take two hours or so with larger titles. The new patented technology would seemingly cut that wait time down further.

The patent was spotted by VeryAliGaming. Titled “Accelerated Application Start Using Estimated Play Duration”, the patent reads, “A method for accelerating the start time of an application is described herein, comprising receiving application chunk information from a user, wherein playtime information is associated with the application chunk information, wherein the application chunk is a discrete portion of the application and the playtime information is an estimated time for one or more similar users to reach a chosen state or landmark in the application; predicting a download duration from the application chunk information and network information; comparing predicted download duration to stored playtime information associated with a previously received application chunk and the playtime information associated with the application chunk information; and installing the previously received application chunk when the predicted download duration is less than the stored playtime information.”

To break that down into something more digestible, it appears that the patent essentially outlines a technology which aims to use playtimes to work out how long it takes players to reach certain points, splitting these into “application chunks”. In theory, it would then be possible to download an isolated application chunk, allowing you to dive into a section of the game, whilst subsequent chunks download in the background, granting you access to the game far quicker than is doable via the current system.

Given that it’s just in the patent stage, this is something Sony is in the early stages of working on and as with all patents, this idea may never be fully realised. I would be surprised though if we didn’t see some kind of evolution surrounding the downloading of games. After all, they’re not getting any smaller.