Microsoft is working on AI-driven, platform-level Xbox Live cheat detection

Microsoft has filed a patent application for machine learning tech that would sniff out cheaters on Xbox Live on the platform level, rather than the more traditional per-game anti-cheat approach.

Though the patent application was only published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and spotted by Digital Trends recently, the application itself was filed back in May 2017.

If the patent is granted (and the tech itself manifests), Microsoft would be able to use the AI-powered system to detect cheating in third-party games by keeping an eye on things like achievements and progress within the game itself. 

The system itself would keep an eye on player behavior, like scores tracked in Xbox Live leaderboards, and achievements earned, use a classifying function trained by machine learning to analyze that data and decide if a player’s progress in the game was suspicious or normal, and take action against the player if progress is classified as outside the norm.

There’s a significantly more in-depth breakdown of what Microsoft is seeking to patent here in the full patent application itself, which can now be found on the USPTO’s website. Currently, the application is listed as a ‘docketed new case, ready for examination,’ though the application itself is no guarantee that a patent will be granted or the tech itself will ever be implemented.