Sony has announced that the PlayStation Portal will finally get cloud streaming.
The PlayStation Portal came onto the scene in late 2024 with the sole objective of allowing players to stream their PS5 games to the handheld from anywhere they can establish a reliable connection. However, the usage of the device was limited to mirroring whatever was displayed on the PS5.
This update is changing that by answering a question gamers have been asking since the initial launch: what about cloud streaming?
The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog is available only to subscribers of its most expensive tier, PlayStation Premium. As such, the integration of cloud streaming in the PlayStation portal will only benefit those users. The price of the subscription is $17.99 per month, $49.99 for 3 months, or $149.99, which gets you a full year.
It’s worth noting that the Cloud Streaming beta that will be a part of this system update only includes titles from the Plus Game Catalog and only PS5 titles. PS4 and PS3 titles are currently not supported. Classic and retro titles are part of a different catalog of games, the PlayStation Plus Classic Catalog, and as of writing, there is no news of an update to include those selections.
That being said, it will be easier now than ever for an eventual update to include those classic early PlayStation titles.
PlayStation Portal vs. Logitech G Cloud
The Logitech G Cloud entered the scene as an alternative to the Portal, offering streaming of Xbox games. Since it runs Android as its base, its available features easily overshadowed the ones available on the Portal. But now that the Portal is gaining streaming capabilities with PS5 titles directly from Sony’s servers, its feature list gains another powerful addition.
As it stands right now, the PlayStation Portal with Cloud Streaming is the only way users can utilize the Game Catalog while portable as there is currently no Android or iOS app available. Even though Microsoft offers browser-based and Android support with their Xbox Cloud Gaming, Sony has opted not to support either.
What to Know Before Updating
The PlayStation Portal is one of Sony’s most unique offerings in recent years. Known for their simplistic naming convention, and products directly addressing gamers’ needs, the Portal fills a growing niche of gamers interested solely in streaming. With average internet speeds being less than stellar in some areas of the world, fewer and fewer people are finding themselves restricted from internet access.
If you’re interested in using Cloud Streaming on your Portal, it can be toggled via Settings in the Quick Menu once you’ve updated your Portal to the latest system update.
The update will begin rolling out today, but tomorrow for those in Europe.
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