PS6 handheld is right around the corner as Sony prepares devs for transition

For quite some time now, leaks and rumors about Sony’s next gen console have been doing the rounds. Not just a standard high-performance console, but Sony is also said to launch a PS6 handheld that will be capable of running PS5 games. A prolific leaker has now shared how Sony is planning on unifying its systems to scale games better for the lower-powered PS6 handheld, suggesting that the device is not far.

The information comes from Moore’s Law is Dead on YouTube and the latest video talks about the “Power Saver Mode” and “PlayGo”, said to be Sony’s version of Xbox’s Smart Delivery. MLID explains that the number of cores and threads that are used in Power Saver Mode are the same as what is expected to be the configuration for the PS6 handheld.

Moreover, Sony has reportedly updated its Software Development Kit (SDK) to version 13 which allows developers to organize chunks of textures and assets for different PlayStation consoles. This essentially means that the base PS5 will no longer have to download PS5 Pro’s high-resolution textures and assets, but specifically the chunk designated for the base PS5.

With the new SDK, there is a dedicated PS5 Power Saver Mode package, suggesting that these will be assets for a dedicated lower-powered device, likely the PS6 handheld. Quoting a source that works at Sony, MLID says, “This would only be done if this “mode” was going to be the entire bases of a new console that might need its own tweaks! You save no energy by using smaller textures!”

Furthermore, Sony also reportedly sent out an update to game developers about PlayStation Network Services (PSN) stating that from spring 2026, “legacy PSN services will be sunset for new PS4 submissions.” This means new games for the PS4 will not be able to use legacy PSN services, so devs will have to patch those games to run with newer versions. At the end, Sony reportedly states that it will provide more details as it gets closer to the transition.

While this “transition” is for sunsetting PSN services for PS4 submissions, it indicates that the company is wanting games to be scaled more efficiently for a future generation of consoles. This is another indicator that the PS6 and PS6 handheld are making good progress for a 2027 release.