(Photo : Sony / Screenshot taken from official website)
Sony is rumored to be working on a new handheld console for the PlayStation brand. This could rival Nintendo's massively popular Switch console.
The company is said to be in the early stages of work for the development of a new product that can run PlayStation 5 games. The handheld is said to be designed to expand Sony's reach and give it a competitor in the portable gaming market.
Sony's Potential Handheld PlayStation
It would also supposedly counter any potential mobile hardware that Xbox maker Microsoft could put out in the future. The latter is said to be working on various prototypes in the category as well.
Sony's handheld device is still likely years away from being released to the public. The company could also decide against bringing it to the market. The people who talked about the plans wanted to remain anonymous as they discussed private plans.
The rumors come parallel to the PlayStation Portal, which is an eight-inch handheld device that Sony originally released last year. It allows users to run PlayStation 5 games by streaming them online, according to Bloomberg.
Read Also: 'Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition' Leak Teases Potential Release on PlayStation Consoles
The company had originally planned for it to function as a standalone device similar to Valve's Steam Deck. If Sony does make a mobile device that can run PlayStation 5 games, it would make them much more accessible and appealing to a wider audience of gamers.
Sony has also taken several steps recently toward that general direction as it works on a bigger push for mobile and PC gaming. The company has also been shifting more of its focus to live-service titles.
Moving Into the Future
The idea of a handheld PlayStation device comes as the PlayStation 6 is believed to have the potential to take the gaming industry to new heights. It seems like Sony is planning to contend with the soon-to-come Nintendo Switch 2 that is slated for a 2025 launch, Gaming Bible said.
Hardware leaker zhangzhonghao shared that PlayStation plans to continue working with AMD. They added that future Sony consoles will still be backward compatible with the PlayStation 5 and possibly even with the PlayStation 4.
The idea of the PlayStation 6 comes as the PlayStation 5 is already in the second half of its lifecycle. This makes it the perfect time to start developing the modern-generation console's successor.
Some educated estimates suggest that the newest Sony console will be released sometime in 2028. The hardware leaker also provided insight that talks about AMD's future GPU architectures and other details, according to Game Rant.
Related Article: PlayStation Plus November 2024 Game Catalog: Sony Reveals Titles Coming to Subscription Service