PlayStation Portal’s latest system software update includes limited cloud streaming functionality, allowing users to play PlayStation 5 games on the handheld device without the need for the actual console.
PlayStation Portal gets cloud streaming
PlayStation Portal gets limited cloud streaming just as Microsoft ramps up Xbox marketing
Image: Sony
Ian Walker loves exploring niche communities and researching the development of classic video games.
At the moment, the cloud streaming beta on PlayStation Portal is exclusive to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers and only extends to the 150 or so PlayStation 5 games already in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog. Sony’s blog post on the subject specifically mentions Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, but other high-profile games like Animal Well, Death Stranding, Demon’s Souls, Disco Elysium, and Humanity should be playable as well.
Streaming on PlayStation Portal tops out at 1080p and 60 frames per second, though Sony vice president of product management Hiromi Wakai recommends internet speeds of at least 13 Mbps to achieve those visuals.
“As we are in the beginning stages of publicly testing cloud streaming on PlayStation Portal, some features will not be available, such as Game Trials, streaming games purchased on PlayStation Store, system features such as Party voice chat and game invites for select games, Create button, 3D audio, and in-game commerce,” Wakai wrote.
PlayStation Plus subscribers have been able to stream PlayStation games on PC since the service’s 2022 update, but seeing as only DualShock 4 controllers continue to be supported, it doesn’t appear as if the feature ranks high on Sony’s priority list.
PlayStation Portal’s expanded functionality comes hot on the heels of Microsoft’s new “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign, which promotes devices like PCs, handhelds, mobile devices, and even Amazon Fire TV Sticks as providing a cloud streaming experience on par with playing on an Xbox console. It seems even the PlayStation Portal may become an Xbox one day, depending on how far Microsoft decides to go with its strategy of porting once-exclusive games to the competing platform.
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