Sony patents new bosses that adapt to your moves and weapons in real time

Sony has filed a patent for a boss system that could change how they behave during combat, using real-time information to adjust to a player’s attacks, movement, and tactics.

Whether slaying a monolithic beast in Monster Hunter or taking down a brutally difficult foe like Elden Ring’s Malenia (I still get nightmares), video game bosses are often a true test of your skill and patience. 

However, a new Sony patent has revealed an AI-based system that could essentially allow computer-controlled opponents to react and adapt to your in-game actions in real time. 

New Sony patent could make Soulslike bosses even harder

As highlighted by Wccftech, Sony’s patent application titled “AI-adapted non-player character for video game system” was filed on March 31, 2025, and later published on October 1, 2026.

In the lengthy document, Sony has proposed a new system that could track “the abilities or special moves used by the player against the NPC/boss along with their frequency and timing,” alongside their weapons, consumable items, and movement patterns.

This information could also include “the frequency and success rate of dodges, blocks, or parries.” Sony’s patent also states the new system could also record damage dealt and received, whether an encounter ended in victory or defeat, and the number of retries needed to succeed.

The boss’s actions would also be monitored and would include things like attack patterns, health changes, and how often players avoid or counter its moves. Sony says this information could then impact “[Non-playable character] movement patterns, dialogue options, combat strategies, social interactions, and the like.” 

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Elsewhere, the filing also describes how an NPC could be “configured to be responsive to behaviors exhibited by the video game player during the encounter with the NPC.” 

Essentially, this would allow your digital foe to adjust their own strategy depending on how you, as the player, interact with them. It’s a pretty thrilling, albeit rather frightening prospect, especially when you consider how difficult Soulslike games already are.

It’s not just adrenaline-fueled fights either, as the patent mentions the technology could influence how characters respond to you. “The data may represent a flee, fight, or negotiate behavior based on a player’s aggression or reputation within the game world,” explains the document.

Characters could also take on different roles, with Sony suggesting that “a rival NPC may be introduced to create unexpected challenges” or that reinforcements could replace defeated enemies. Other examples also include introducing characters to repair structures damaged by players or environmental disasters, help solve puzzles, or react to changing terrain and weather.

While there’s no release date or info about future games that could implement this technology, if the patent does become a staple feature, then it would mean Soulslike fans would need to “get good” like never before.