PlayStation Portal just got a big update to cloud gaming

A year after launching its handheld gaming device, PlayStation has announced an update to PS Portal.

Announced in a blog post on Wednesday, the company announced a system software update to its remote player, released in Nov. 2023.

The update, which is now available to all users, includes a beta version of cloud streaming support for the Portal. This means if you pay for PlayStation Plus Premium you'll be able to access PS5 games in the catalogue on your Portal device — without having to own a PS5 or lug around your console. (Notably, PS4 and PS3 games are not supported.)

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Games on PS Portal stream at up to 1080p/60fps, and incorporate features like haptic feedback in the DualSense wireless controllers on either side of the LCD screen. Plus, with the cloud beta, you can save games using PlayStation Plus Cloud storage up to 100GB (which will sync with your PS5 if you have one).

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Mashable reviewed the PS Portal when it released last year, with reporter Alex Perry writing of the device: "One thing that is inherently a hindrance with a game streaming device is latency. There’s just no way around the fact that there's a tiny, almost imperceptible gap between you pressing a button and something happening on-screen with PlayStation Portal. The good news is that, for a lot of games, this doesn’t matter at all."

Perry also noted, "While latency is not a huge problem on Portal, visual hiccups are more prevalent. If a game runs at 60 frames per second on a PS5, it’ll also run that way on Portal, but not all the time. I personally noticed lots of little dips here and there, seemingly having more to do with my WiFi connection than anything happening in the games themselves. Again, for a lot of titles, this isn’t a big deal, but shooters and racing games would be hampered by that."

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In the blog post, Hiromi Wakai, Sony Interactive Entertainment's VP of product management, noted the company was "in the beginning stages of publicly testing cloud streaming on PS Portal" and specified that "some features will not be available, such as Game Trials, streaming games purchased on PS Store, system features such as Party voice chat and game invites for select games, Create button, 3D audio, and in-game commerce."

The PS Portal update also includes several audio improvements including a speaker audio output adjustment which lets you make the volume lower than the minimum setting. Plus, users will be able to use the settings on the Portal to adjust settings on PlayStation Link USB devices.