PS5 suspend-resume feature potentially detailed in new UI patent

A new patent might provide the clearest idea yet of how the PS5 user interface looks and functions, spotted by the ever-watchful collective eye at ResetEra.

The patent surfaced just after Sony president and CEO Jim Ryan teased some "really cool" reveals related to the PS5's UI coming in the weeks before the next-gen console launches. An analysis by ResetEra user gofreak details several concepts that could wind up in the PS5 UI, including a thumbnail bar for games at the bottom of the screen that could play into the PS5's suspend/resume function. The concept describes a panel of content that opens when you select a game, revealing things like party setup, playtime tracking, restart buttons, in-game events, missions to take on, and hints for what's to come.

This all lines up nicely with what Sony has said about the PS5 UI in the past. "Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them—and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like," Mark Cerny told Wired last October.

The patent also describes a feature where scrolling over an icon for a specific mission reveals which of your PS5 friends were playing that mission, and you would be able to tap their icon and see more information about their activity. And speaking of friends, the patent shows them all neatly presented with little icons at the top of the UI, and the concept would allow you to highlight your "close friend" icons and add indicators to know when they're live-streaming or sending you a message.

Finally, the actual look of the PS5 UI is described in the patent as having "dynamic waves" and "particle effects," which could be used as points of focus for the player. Again, this largely checks out with the quick glimpse of the PS5 start-up screen we saw during the Future of Gaming event in June.

If you're still on the hunt to lockdown your console, keep tabs on our guide to PS5 pre-orders for the latest on availability.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.