The console is said to be in an early stage of development.
PlayStation 5 players have been able to play on the go using the PlayStation Portal for a little over a year. Thanks to an update, this now also works via cloud streaming.
The rumor that Sony is working on a dedicated handheld console that supports PlayStation 4 and 5 games already emerged at the beginning of the year.
A Bloomberg report now confirms the rumor. Sony is said to be working on a successor to the PlayStation Vita that will allow PlayStation 5 games to be played on the go.
Good to know: In 2012, Sony released the PlayStation Vita, the successor to the PSP, in Europe (it had already been released in Japan in 2011). In 2019, Sony stopped production without announcing a successor.
Bloomberg states that Sony is said to be pursuing several goals with the handheld:
- Appeal to new audiences of buyers.
- Build competition to Nintendo’s dominance in the mobile handheld market.
- Be prepared if Microsoft were to release an Xbox handheld.
As a source, Bloomberg cites people familiar with the development. However, the development of the handheld could still take years.
PlayStation Portal was initially supposed to be a standalone handheld like Valve’s Steam Deck. Why Sony didn’t pursue the plans further is not mentioned in the article.
The anticipation in the community is high
On Reddit the news is mainly seen as positive. In particular, the possibility of being able to play PlayStation 5 games on the go is emphasized.
Many users also want backwards compatibility to be able to play older PlayStation games on the handheld.
The (so far unknown) price of the future handheld is a cause for concern for some commentators. Supporting PlayStation 5 games requires fast hardware, which comes at a price. The battery life of the handheld and its possible performance are also subject to question marks.
TareXmd writes with reference to the Steam Deck 2:
Playstation 5 Handheld? I mean, it’s doable, but I expect 30 fps at performance settings with less than 2 hours of battery life. Sony will have a tough time competing against the 2026 Steam Deck 2.
The goal of taking market share from Nintendo is also viewed rather critically. The Switch 2 could officially be released as early as March 2025. The new Switch will play both old Switch games and new games. Sony’s handheld will likely not support PlayStation 6 games.
Until the release, Sony’s plans are still subject to change– if such a device comes onto the market at all.
What do you think of a new version of the PlayStation Vita? Would you buy a PlayStation handheld? Or would you rather wait for another mobile console? Feel free to write us a comment about it.
