Sony is reportedly in the early stages of developing a new PlayStation handheld device which would likely play PS4 and PS5 games natively. The report arrives courtesy of the ever-reliable , which posited a portable console, while years away, was being discussed privately, as a means to expand Sony’s reach into a new market. The PlayStation Portal, a cloud-based streaming handheld, is reportedly being used as a building block for Sony’s future plans.

In fact, was told the device was originally meant to function as a standalone gaming handheld, much like the Steam Deck, before plans were changed. Sony is seemingly looking to revisit this intent in a new handheld device, with the aim for this to be “more accessible and appealing to a wider audience.” notes Sony has been aiming to expand PlayStation’s appeal for several years now, as it aims to make its games more widely accessible, beyond the PS5 ecosystem.

Should Sony release a new PlayStation handheld device, it will likely be in contention with Microsoft – the company is – as well as Nintendo, which will announce a Nintendo Switch successor within the next six months, and Valve’s Steam Deck PC handheld. The handheld gaming market is heating up In the last few years, the race to create new gaming handhelds that allow a freedom for users has heated up significantly. What’s worth noting is Sony was formerly an expert in the gaming handheld market.

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was a very early experiment with .