The PlayStation Portal Finally Supports Cloud Streaming
The device is starting to finally become a proper handheld, not just a PS5 mirror
The PlayStation Portal has always been a great idea on paper, a sleek, portable way to play your PS5 games anywhere. But the problem was, it required Remote Play, meaning you actually needed your PS5 nearby and powered on. For many players, that requirement made it feel more like a glorified mirror than a true handheld console. The connection could easily turn from smooth to stuttery, if it even worked at all, making the experience unpredictable.
But now, things are changing for the better. With the official rollout of cloud streaming, the Portal is finally cutting some of those tethers.
Emmanuel Umahi
Well, technically, this isn’t brand new; PlayStation has been testing cloud streaming since last year with a small group of Premium Plus members. But now, it’s officially available to everyone on that tier, and it’s a big deal.
Cloud streaming means you can now play select PS5 games directly from Sony’s servers, without having to connect to your console at home. As long as you have a solid internet connection, you can pick up your Portal, jump into your library, and start streaming games like Astro Bot, Borderlands 4, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Ghost of Yōtei, and Resident Evil 4.
That said, it’s not every PS5 game just yet. Sony says “thousands” of PS5 titles will be supported at launch, alongside hundreds more from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog, such as Cyberpunk 2077, God of War Ragnarök, Hogwarts Legacy, Sword of the Sea, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered. Altogether, that makes for more than 2,000 games available for cloud streaming at launch.
It’s essentially the same idea that services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or NVIDIA GeForce Now are built on, letting you stream games rather than download them. Of course, there are some limits. You’ll need a PlayStation Plus Premium membership to access the feature, and like most streaming setups, your experience depends entirely on your Wi-Fi quality, so expect occasional hiccups if your connection isn’t steady.
Still, Sony isn’t stopping at streaming. The latest update also brings a handful of new features to make the Portal feel more like a full-fledged handheld. There’s now a redesigned home screen with tabs for Remote Play, cloud streaming, and search.
You also get 3D audio support (for wired headphones and PlayStation Link headsets), a new passcode lock, and even the ability to make in-game purchases or join multiplayer sessions directly from the Quick Menu.
It’s clear that Sony wants the PlayStation Portal to be more than just a PS5 accessory, a bridge between consoles and the cloud. And while it’s still not the fully standalone PlayStation handheld fans have been dreaming of, this update brings it one step closer. With cloud streaming now open to everyone, the Portal might finally start living up to its potential.
Emmanuel Umahi
