Sony is reportedly developing a new handheld console capable of running PlayStation 5 games natively. Initial development of the device was first highlighted in a Bloomberg report last week. This claim has since been supported by Digital Foundry, which confirmed on Monday that a Sony handheld is indeed in progress. The company had previously released the PlayStation Portal last year, which functions primarily as a remote player for the PS5.
Confirmation of Sony’s New Handheld
In a recent episode of DF Direct Weekly, Digital Foundry, recognized for its extensive technical analysis of gaming hardware and software, lent credibility to the report about the upcoming PlayStation handheld.
“We actually heard about this handheld some months ago from a couple sources specifically. We’re not in the business of leaking things, but it’s interesting that this finally started to make its rounds, because it just confirmed what we had seen and heard off the record about this existing — which is cool,” stated John Linneman from Digital Foundry during the discussion.
He added, “To me, this sort of just strengthens the notion that yeah, they’re very much working on something. And this article makes it seem like it’s even further out than I actually thought based on that.”
Linneman indicated that Sony might already possess a prototype of the handheld. “So, I’m not sure where it’s going; I think there’s like prototype stuff out there, possibly. There are still many questions regarding this, but it definitely feels like the future of offering a handheld and a home console option is very likely at this point.”
As of now, Sony has not issued any official statement regarding its plans for a new gaming handheld that could facilitate portable PS5 gameplay.
The PlayStation Portal remote player was launched in 2023
Photo Credit: Sony
Last week, the Bloomberg report suggested that the new handheld is intended to compete with the highly popular Nintendo Switch. It is expected to support native game playback, reminiscent of Sony’s previous handhelds, such as the PSP and PS Vita. However, the launch of this upcoming device is believed to be several years away.
The PlayStation Portal, Sony’s most recent handheld, is limited to streaming games and media from an associated PS5 over a Wi-Fi connection. This requires the PS5 to remain in rest mode for remote play functionality on the Portal.
Nevertheless, the PlayStation Portal received an update in November that introduced cloud streaming support for select PS5 titles. Currently in beta, this feature is accessible to PlayStation Plus Deluxe/Premium tier subscribers in certain regions. Sony has informed users that they will be able to stream over 120 PS5 games directly from the company’s servers, eliminating the need for a linked PS5 while using the Portal.
