Sony PlayStation is adding smell—yes, you read that right—to its games

Sony has unveiled a new gaming system that could allow PlayStation players to sniff their way through games like The Last of Us.

Unveiled at CES 2025, the Future Immersive Entertainment Concept (FIEC) features a huge, room-size setup designed to push the boundaries of immersive gaming. A ">trailer for the concept shows a giant cube built from high-definition LED screens that enables players to step directly into their favorite games (unfortunately, this isn’t something you’ll be setting up in your living room anytime soon).

In the trailer, players experience the postapocalyptic world of The Last of Us with enhanced audio and the addition of smell-o-vision, delivering a “completely new experience.” “One of the pillars of Sony’s creative entertainment vision is the idea of narrative everywhere, where stories from Sony are transformed across new and exciting mediums,” explains the video. “This Future Immersive Entertainment Concept aims to explore these possibilities. This proof-of-concept project combines the latest location-based technologies, Sony Crystal LED panels, engaging audio, haptics, scent, and atmospherics to fully immerse you into the world of the story.”

While the infected world of The Last of Us may seem an odd choice to demonstrate what the FIEC can do, players could shoot clickers as they appeared around them and get a whiff of the game’s grim postapocalyptic world. “I think I speak for everyone when I say nobody asked for this,” one skeptical fan responded to the announcement. “Can’t think of a single game that will enhance my experience by smelling it,” a second X user added, unimpressed.

Can't think of a single game that will enhance my experience by smelling it.

— 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑰𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒕 🦄 (@SoldierBoyLeon) January 8, 2025

While the use of scents in entertainment has been around since the 1960s, the FIEC builds on a PlayStation patent for scent-based gaming filed four years ago. Whether or not gamers will embrace this feature remains to be seen. Perhaps they should have led with the waft of pizza in the world of Cooking Mama to get gamers onside. 

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