Sony working on a handheld gaming console that plays PlayStation 5 games natively

A previous rumour stated Sony was 'paying close attention' to the handheld console market following the Steam Deck's massive success. While Sony did launch the PlayStation Portal, it is by no means a direct competitor to the multitude of Windows-based consoles on the market. Now, a Bloomberg report echoes earlier sentiments about Sony's return to the handheld market.

Sony's idea "builds on" the PS Portal, and it will be able to play PlayStation 5 games on-the-go. Of course, this is in the very early stages of development and unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon. After all, delivering PS5-level quality in a handheld form factor will require many leaps in technology that simply doesn't exist yet.

For starters, it would need high-bandwidth memory to keep the GPU fed. This should, in part, be addressed with LPDDR6 modules. Then there's the issue of a CPU and GPU combo that can deliver PS5-quality visuals at a reasonable power budget. A Zen 4/Zen 5 plus UDNA chip might be able to pull it off, but not anytime soon.

Lastly, Sony/AMD will need access to TSMC's cutting-edge nodes. Historically, AMD has been one node behind, and if that continues, it might have access to TSMC N2 in 2026, paving the way for a 2027 launch window. All of these, combined with AI-powered image upscaling tech like PSSR, should make such a device viable, at least on paper.

Then there's the issue of developer support. Studios have to launch nerfed versions of their games to run on the PlayStation handheld. This will add more moving parts to the already Rube Goldberg-esque mechanism. Ideally, Sony would do well to launch as a portal alternative to the PlayStation 6. This bifurcation actually makes sense, as it offers two vastly different ways to experience the same content.

In an earlier report, Xbox's Phil Spencer said Microsoft was also working on a handheld console that was "a few years out". There's a high chance both consoles could be released within weeks of each other to intensify the console war. Then there's the Steam Deck 2 to worry about as well. It has been established that it isn't coming anytime soon, and Valve could very well ruin Sony and Microsoft's party with its next-gen handheld.