The latest update for the PlayStation Portal is introducing a highly requested feature for the handheld remote play device: cloud streaming without using a home console. The feature launches in beta this week, allowing PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers to stream select PS Plus games directly from the cloud.
The addition of cloud streaming is set to be a major upgrade for the handheld PlayStation device, which currently uses a remote-play system requiring a strong internet connection from both the Portal and the PS5 it’s playing off. With cloud streaming, PS Plus Premium subscribers will be able to use the Portal to stream PS5 games, even without a PS5 console, similarly to how Xbox Cloud Gaming works for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
The beta includes support for select PS5 games in the PS Plus game catalog, including Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, among others. The beta doesn’t currently allow for streaming games that have been purchased off the PS Store.
Players will be able to stream up to 1080p/60fps, with a 1080p stream requiring minimum 13 Mbps, and 720p requiring at least 7 Mbps. The cloud streaming beta is opt-in, and interested players with an active PS Plus Premium subscription can enable it under “Cloud Streaming (Beta)” in the setting menu of their Portal device.
“PS Portal was an ambitious product for us, and we have been delighted by the positive response from our fans and to see that our vision has resonated with the community,” Sony said in the PlayStation Blog post about the new update. The device has been popular in its first year of release, with stock often hard to come by, though it appears to be a little easier to get your hands on now.