PlayStation maker Sony Interactive Entertainment has been granted a patent for a controller that doesn't have a single physical button, some newly released regulatory filings have revealed. While the concept lacks many of the traditional inputs typically associated with gamepads, it only represents one possible implementation, as the patent focuses primarily on input technology rather than hinting at future PlayStation controller designs.
Every year at least a few new Sony patents related to controllers are granted and published. While these filings vary widely in terms of design and functionality, most include some form of physical buttons. Infringing this pattern is a newly published USPTO patent dated January 27, 2026.
The new console exclusive PS5 is the best rated game of 2026 so far
The latest PlayStation 5 exclusive is here, and it's been released to massive critical acclaim, outshining every other 2026 game so far.
Sony's latest controller concept has multiple screens, no buttons
A newly secured patent with grant number 12533573 (the first identified by VGC) describes a gamepad that completely forgoes traditional physical inputs. In their place are touchscreens paired with some other sensors that can detect finger position, as well as taps, long presses, and swipes. This input is used to dynamically light and adjust the virtual controls on the device's displays, allowing the interface to shift based on how the user holds and interacts with the unconventional PlayStation controller depicted in the illustrations attached to the patent.
Image drawings from Sony's new controller patent
What Sony says about the purpose of this unusual invention
The original patent application, filed in February 2023, describes the screen-and-sensor approach to reading player inputs as something that offers more flexibility compared to a physical stick-and-button layout, allowing game accessory manufacturers to accommodate different hand sizes, play styles, or accessibility needs with a single device, rather than developing and mass-producing multiple specialized controllers. Currently, Sony continues to address various accessibility needs with dedicated hardware, such as the PlayStation 5 Access Controller, which launched in December 2023.
The new PlayStation controller patent doesn't actually require a complete lack of buttons
While some of the implementations described in Sony's new patent refer to the use of touchscreens and illuminated display elements to present virtual controls, the underlying claims do not mandate the presence of multiple screens or even a dedicated display. Instead, the patent broadly covers adaptive input surfaces that interpret input without physical buttons, with visual output only presented as an optional feature. In other words, the technology described in the patent could theoretically be implemented in a more traditional controller that also offers some kind of physical input.
Estimate the chance that Sony patent 12533573 will be used in an actual product
According to a recent study by Parola Analytics, the USPTO granted 2,256 patents to the Sony Group during 2025. This made the tech giant the 14th most prolific patent filer of the year, just below Dell and above Intel. For added context, a snapshot of the USPTO database reviewed by GameRant reveals that Sony Group and its many subsidiaries own 133,506 US patents as of January 31, 2026. The vast majority of these protected inventions were never commercialized. Given this context, the statistical probability of this particular controller ever becoming a commercial product seems relatively low.
That being said, accessibility has become an increasingly important goal for gamepad manufacturers. This includes making greater efforts to accommodate players with physical disabilities, as well as those who rely on non-conventional settings for convenience or practical reasons. For example, another recent Sony patent suggested that future PlayStation controllers could recognize when users are playing in a tilted or prone position and automatically adjust their functions to match. Under these circumstances, an accessibility-focused filing like patent 12533573 may have a better chance of eventually being translated into a commercial product than the average Sony patent that appears in the USPTO database.
Source: VGC
