- A Sony-filed patent jhas revealed designs for a “buttonless” controller
- It would use touchscreens instead of the traditional buttons, d-pad, and more
- Elements could be resized and moved around at will
Sony has patented a controller design that looks like it would do away with buttons entirely, as well as the d-pad and thumbsticks.
The patent (spotted by Insider Gaming) was filed on January 27, 2026, and is now available to view publicly. It details a “buttonless” controller that, as hinted in the URL, could be an early concept for a potential PlayStation 6 controller rather than something for the PS5. Take that with a pinch of salt, naturally, as patents often don’t lead to a fully-realized product.
Imagery in the patent depicts a controller with two large touchscreens, situated where the d-pad, face buttons, and thumbsticks would be. The touchscreens are located on the left and right of the pad, with a central “push button” dividing the two.
The patent also shows that the usual physical features of a controller are now elements that can be interacted with on the touchscreen. Players would be able to assign button, d-pad, and stick elements, as well as move them around and resize them according to preference. One image shows that elements could even overlap.
The Background section of the patent offers some insight as to how such a product could be beneficial to the end user, from an accessibility standpoint.
“One of the drawbacks of existing designs [of controllers] may be the fixed configuration,” it reads. “By way of example, a fixed layout may be too small, or too large, for a user. Similarly, a fixed layout may not be comfortable to a user.”
It goes on to state that: “There exists a desire for game controllers to allow for different configurations, and accommodate hand sizes without having to customize or manufacture controller size.”
We’ve certainly seen evidence of this from PlayStation itself. The PlayStation Access controller, for example, is an accessibility-driven device that is highly modular, and allows for a swathe of layouts and setups.
Contemporary controllers are also adopting more advanced features, like swappable thumbstick layouts and additional remappable buttons. The likes of the Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded and Razer Raiju V3 Pro come to mind here.
It remains to be seen if Sony will do anything with this buttonless controller patent. But it’s certainly an interesting idea that – if one can get over the loss of physicality that comes with touch screens – could be helpful in creating accessibility-driven button layouts without needing custom hardware setups.
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