By including a microphone as part of the PlayStation 5’s new DualSense controller, Sony is making voice chat easier than it’s ever been before. Of course, with a low barrier for entry comes the potential for irritation, as gamers can be known to play loud music and have personal conversations in the lobbies of online titles.

Fortunately, the Japanese giant has a solution which will at least help to eliminate some background noise. As part of a patent filed in February and published this week, the manufacturer explained how its new pad’s “microphone array” will operate. “Captured sound can be processed to exclude sounds which do not emanate from a certain region of the interactive environment,” the document illustrates.

Effectively, the three included microphones can detect the position of sounds, cancelling out any noises that aren’t coming directly from the primary user. This also helps to eliminate crosstalk, which could occur when two players are using pads in a local environment. “The captured audio data from the multiple controllers can be analysed in combination,” the patent adds.

Of course, this technology won’t be flawless, so you should probably still expect to hear some tinny Stormzy songs while you’re waiting in the lobbies of the next Call of Duty game. The good news is that the Japanese giant’s worked to at least minimise background sounds, which we’re sure will be appreciated by those who play plenty of online multiplayer.