New PlayStation 6 Portable leak points to full PS5 library support on day one

Thanks to @KeplerL2 sharing nuggets of information on the NeoGAF forums, the PlayStation 6 Portable is slowly taking shape. Assuming the fresh piece of information is true, the handheld PS6 console will be accompanying the full-sized PS6 machine. The portable console is also expected to have a low-power AMD SoC with performance that falls between the Xbox Series S and the PlayStation 5. Additionally, we now know that the PS6 Portable could also enjoy wide game support.

When asked whether “current-gen games need patches” to run natively on the PS6 Portable, @Kepler L2 claimed that the handheld PS6 console can run PS5 games without any developer input or patches. This is because the PS6 Portable allegedly has “shader binary compatibility,” which allows the console to run PS5 games natively.

However, games that are not patched for the PS6 handheld might not perform the best, per the leaker. This is quite understandable as PS5 can also natively play all PS4 games, but developers often patch their PS4 games to take full advantage of the added power of the newer console.

Console wars could engulf the handheld space in the near future

Between the Nintendo Switch 2 arriving in June, Microsoft allegedly making an Xbox handheld gaming console, and the possible existence of the PS6 Portable, the console war looks ready to invade the palm of your hand. Add next-gen Windows handheld consoles like a newer Steam Deck and ROG Ally into the mix, the handheld console landscape could be brimming with competition in a few years.

This is quite exciting since, before the relatively recent rise of Windows handhelds, Nintendo was the only real player in the handheld space for the better part of a decade.

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