Video games have long pushed the boundaries of realism, enhancing visuals, audio, and even touch with haptic feedback. Now, gaming is exploring the next sensory frontier with smell. At CES 2025, Sony debuted its Future Immersive Entertainment Concept, FIEC, a cutting-edge technology that introduces scent into gameplay and further deepens player immersion.

A New Dimension of Gaming

Sony’s FIEC is a massive, room-sized setup designed to transport players inside their favorite games. The demonstration at CES featured The Last of Us, a game set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with danger and decay. Players stepped inside a giant cube built from high-definition LED screens where they were fully enveloped in the game’s world through enhanced audio, interactive props, and most notably smell-o-vision. As they wielded imitation weapons and fired at on-screen enemies, players experienced the scent of rotten fungus, a fitting addition given the game’s infected creatures.

The Evolution of Smell in Gaming

Though Sony’s immersive cube is currently a proof of concept, the idea of incorporating scents into gaming is not entirely new. Smell-based gaming patents date back to the 1960s, and in 2021, FIEC expanded upon a PlayStation patent for scent-based gaming. By 2023, Sony filed a patent for smell-o-vision integration in its DualSense controller. Microsoft also explored scent-enhanced gaming, launching pizza-scented Xbox controllers in 2023 to promote the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. A decade earlier, they experimented with a scent-filled controller for the Xbox One.

Even outside major console manufacturers, scent-based gaming technology has been gaining traction. In 2024, GameScent introduced a device that tracks in-game actions and releases corresponding smells such as forest, gunfire, and storm. Future updates promise additional scents including blood to further heighten the realism.

The Challenges of Smell-O-Vision

Despite these advancements, scent technology in gaming still has hurdles to overcome. The technology remains expensive and limits accessibility to the general public. Additionally, integrating dynamic scent experiences into games requires extensive research and development to ensure a seamless and non-intrusive experience. While Sony’s CES showcase offers a glimpse into the future, there are no immediate plans to bring the FIEC to market.

A Step Toward Fully Immersive Worlds

As gaming technology evolves, developers continue to explore new ways to engage players beyond sight and sound. Smell could soon join the list of standard immersive features and allow players to fully experience the environments they traverse. From the scent of burning rubber in a high-speed race to the aroma of pine in a sprawling forest, smell has the potential to revolutionize gaming as we know it. While it may take years before smell-o-vision becomes mainstream, Sony’s recent showcase suggests that the future of gaming is closer and more immersive than ever before.