PS Portal will get a new rival from inside: a natively-supported PS5 portable console

Sony is reportedly developing a portable console to play PlayStation 5 games on the go. And, unlike the PlayStation Portal which can “only” stream PS5 games, this portable would have the capacity to directly run PS5 games.

Bloomberg has learned that although the product is still in early development and could be years away from release, it would build on the PS Portal model. The Japanese tech giant wants to compete with Nintendo and its Switch predecessor, which will be backward compatible, and Microsoft’s potential move in the portable gaming market.

Not too long ago, Sony also launched cloud streaming support for PS Portal. It comes with access to 120 PS5 games at up to 1080p resolution and 60 frame-per-second (fps) and is currently available to try for PS Plus Premium subscribers. The company also celebrated its 30th anniversary with a lot of limited-edition devices, including a PS5 and PS Portal with the old, vintage PS1 aesthetics.

Sony has not released portable gaming hardware in years, following the discontinuation of their earlier devices like the PS Vita and PlayStation Portable—two products that are seemingly way too ahead of their times. So, to challenge Nintendo Switch which already has a strong niche in the market would be a bold but strategic move to re-enter the competitive handheld space.

Earlier this year, tech-centric publication The Verge learned that Valve confirmed plans to support SteamOS on rival handheld gaming devices like the Asus ROG Ally in a move that could challenge Windows’ dominance in this market.

While Valve’s Steam Deck has sold millions of units and the handheld gaming market is projected to grow significantly by 2028, Microsoft has been slow to optimize Windows for smaller handheld devices.