However, Sony thinks that they might have an idea on how to fix this. In a patent discovered on Reddit by u/WolfgangKaipZ, Sony suggests that they could replace the player that dropped out by an AI that would play in their place. Now, this isn’t exactly a new idea where computers take over when a player quits, but Sony’s patent takes it one step further.
According to the patent’s abstract, “When the first player quits or stops responding before the multiplayer game has completed, the first player is replaced by a computer-simulated version of the first player that selects its actions based on probabilities calculated from the tracked actions of the first player. The multiplayer game is thus able to continue without interruption or disruption, and the first player’s playstyle is preserved.”
This means that the AI will be smart enough to know how the player plays and will try their best to emulate them. This is opposed to simply reverting to a script or a set of steps that computer players typically use. It could also mean that in theory, this AI-replaced player could be even better as it would definitely have faster reaction times. Of course, this is only a patent so we’re not sure if Sony actually plans to implement it, but it is definitely intriguing.