Activision Patents Replay Customization Tool

Gaming developer Activision has recently filed a patent for a system or tool that will allow players to customize replays after the fact. Killcams and gameplay highlights have become a staple in games from Activision-Blizzard, most notably kill cams in the Call of Duty and the Play of the Game in Overwatch. This new system will give players tools in-game to edit and stylize their replays before sharing them to social media.

In the recent patent, Activision makes explicit mention of the kill cam in Call of Duty and even includes a reference image which shows what the tool might look like using footage from the game. This includes a preview of the kill cam, an option to apply saved templates, and more precise tools to edit and create new templates. You can check out the reference diagram below.

At a glance, the tool appears to be only slightly more complex than any other online “meme template” tool. Among all the apparent features, the “Select Trigger Event” has potential. While the final product could easily change between a concept diagram and release, it’s clear that Activision wants to include the ability to identify and perform edits based on flagged events. The bar of entry to the world of video editing is growing ever lower, and with this tool almost anyone could put funny sound effects in their replays.

The patent also implies that the tool’s templates can be applied live. This means players can set a template before hand to do… let’s say play a rubber duck sound when you kill someone. This will appear on the kill camera your victim sees while they’re waiting to respawn! This could give players new ways to customize and personalize an entirely new loadout. With customization however, comes monetization. At the moment we can only speculate, but it’s easy to imagine sound effects, fonts, and visual effects that have to be unlocked via loot box.

We’re still early in the patent’s lifespan and just about anything can change. Activision in particular is rather known for patenting ideas, systems, and tools that may not ever see the light of day; one example being their “negative aim assist” to handicap skilled players without them ever knowing.

Call of Duty and Overwatch may be the most famous examples of in-game replays in Activision-Blizzard games, but the potential for this program could be applied to other games, especially as in-game replays and recordings become more and more common.

With Modern Warfare 2 on the horizon, it’s possible we could see a rudimentary version of this tool implemented. Something like this could easily be added in future patches to other games by Activision-Blizzard. For now we’ll have to wait and see when or even if the developer tries to roll this tool out.

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