Sony officially confirmed the new PlayStation handheld last night and now a new rumor claims that the 8-inch device will arrive in November. The claim comes from Tom Henderson, the same journalist who originally detailed Sony’s Project Q handheld last month.
“Currently scheduled for release in mid-late November 2023,” said Henderson in a tweet this morning. Sony has yet to announce pricing or an exact release date, only revealing that the PlayStation handheld will launch “later this year.”
Sony’s PlayStation handheld, known only as Project Q for now, will allow PS5 owners to stream games on an 8-inch LCD screen that includes controllers on either side of the device. very much on the DualSense PS5 controller. The games don’t run natively on the device, meaning you’ll need to install them on a PS5 and have a good Wi-Fi connection to stream them.
Sony hasn’t mentioned whether you’ll be able to use the PlayStation handheld outside of your home, but you’ll likely be able to use Sony’s Remote Play technology to access your PS5 games on the go.
Sony has clearly responded to the rise of handheld gaming in recent years. Nintendo’s Switch dominates modern handheld consoles and Valve’s Steam Deck shows what’s possible for PC gaming on the go. Whether the PlayStation handheld is a success will come when people are willing to spend money on a device that is limited to streaming PS5 games.
It is now possible to stream PS5 games on PCs, Macs, and iOS and Android devices, so there are questions about who this device really is. The adaptive triggers are a nice touch, but they’re sure to catch you off guard with the many existing mobile device and controller options.
Sony could extend its PlayStation handheld to cloud streaming given recent job listings indicate a new cloud gaming push, which certainly makes sense after PlayStation chief Jim Ryan teased “somewhat aggressive plans” for cloud gaming earlier this week. But even with cloud streaming options there is still a big question whether PS5 owners want a PlayStation handheld that can’t play games without an internet connection.
Logitech tried something similar with a high price tag, so Sony’s success may come down to whether it is ready to stream PlayStation games in the cloud and the price of this PlayStation handheld . Some people (including Verge Managing editor Alex Cranz) argues that a phone is terrible for playing in the cloud and wants dedicated devices, so we’ll see how the market responds.
Sony says we’ll get more details about Project Q in the coming months.
