A new patent shows how PS5 will let you launch into specific parts of games to play your favorite activities as fast as loading up the next episode of The Witcher on Netflix.
The United States Patent application was first filed back in September 2018 but was only published last week. Its title of "Dynamic Interfaces for Launching Direct Gameplay" isn't catchy, but it does sum up the idea well: on top of allowing you to load up a game the usual way, a theoretical game console's theoretical user interface could also automatically present several "templates" for jumping straight to in-game activities.
In a game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, that could mean loading into the latest mission of the campaign or matchmaking for Warzone from the home screen, without any need for the usual series of loading and splash screens. You'd just go to the Modern Warfare section of the PS5 UI, select the activity you want, and get to it.
You can already accomplish some of that on PS4 by suspending the game right where you want to play next, but this would allow you to quickly jump into multiple parts of the game even if you didn't leave off there last time, or if you hadn't played in a while.
The patent doesn't mention PS5 but it lines up neatly with Sony's push to mercilessly exterminate any wait time between you and playing your games - and specifically with comments Cerny made last year about PS5 letting you "jump right into whatever you like". The SSD technology and expanded system bandwidth that Mark Cerny outlined in his recent PS5 tech deep dive could also help power this new interface innovation.
See what you could be playing with minimal wait times (aside from the wait for them to actually come out) in our guide to upcoming PS5 games.