PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - Apr 8, 2026 - Future of Gaming, the strategic intelligence platform tracking gaming patents from the USPTO, has published its Q1 2026 Quarterly Granted Report analyzing 124 patents awarded to 21 companies. The report reveals a consistent industry priority: eliminating player friction through automation, from controller drift calibration to backend service integration to crafting systems that don't pull players out of the game world. "The granted patents tell you what's actually shipping," said Alex Kirillov, founder of Future of Gaming. "Filed patents show intent. Granted patents show commitment. When Sony gets 27 grants in a single quarter spanning everything from gesture recognition to spatial anchoring to procedural animation, that's not speculative R&D. That's infrastructure for products in development right now." Key Findings Sony received more than triple the next-largest company. Sony's 27 granted patents span six categories, with 16 in AI/ML alone. Their grants cover gesture recognition that prevents false positives during gameplay, spectator-driven AI adjustment, session duration prediction, customizable flat controllers for accessibility, and spatial anchoring for mixed-reality experiences. Cross-platform led granted patents with 52. Unified progression tracking, backend service integration, and multi-game loyalty systems dominated. Betty Gaming received a patent for universal progress bars converting game-specific metrics into platform-wide rewards. Amazon patented pre-configured workflows connecting authentication, matchmaking, leaderboards, and voice chat without custom integration code. AI/ML accounted for 31 grants. EA's Motion Variational Autoencoders generate character poses in real-time without storing animation data. Cygames patented automated bug detection for collectible card games by comparing irregular and regular gameplay session logs. Colopl received a patent for AI-generated NPC dialogue replacing scripted responses. Hardware grants focused on accessibility and durability. Sony received patents for adaptive dead-zone calibration, touch-sensitive control surfaces, and customizable flat controllers. Wi-Charge patented laser-based wireless charging for controllers during active gameplay. Backbone Labs