The PlayStation Portal, Sony’s portable second-screen PS5 streaming device, has always had a bit of a niche use case. Effectively a DualSense controller with a screen in the middle, the handheld lets you stream your PlayStation 5 to it if you’ve got good wifi, but it’s mostly just an extension of the console itself. Well, not anymore. Sony has announced that the PlayStation Portal will finally be able to stream games directly rather than needing them to bounce off your console.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony announced that if you’re subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium, you’ll be able to stream cloud-streaming-compatible PS5 games directly to your Portal instead of having them ping back and forth between your console and the handheld. The feature will go live tonight, November 5, at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Sony still recommends you play on internet speeds of at least 15 megabytes per second, which might not sound like much until you’ve lived in the boonies and dealt with service providers only offering 3 megabytes per second in your area, forcing you to take your game devices to other people’s houses or your college campus to download patches. So if you’re considering grabbing the Portal to make cloud streaming your way of playing, make sure your router’s got the juice.
This update is part of a wider revamp of the Portal’s systems, which includes a new UI, 3D audio support, and some smaller added functions like passcode support.
I’ve considered buying a Portal in the past as a way to play my PS5 games in bed, but I will always be sad that PlayStation hasn’t invested in a dedicated handheld device since the PlayStation Vita. I imagine if the company did it in 2025, it would instead be a portable PC like the ROG Ally X, which isn’t the same, dammit!