PlayStation Portal is Getting a Cloud Streaming Beta

The PlayStation Portal has been a big success for Sony since its launch roughly a year ago – certainly a bigger success than even Sony itself was expecting – but the device has, nonetheless, also been on the receiving end of some rather fair criticism. One factor in particular that has invited backlash is its lack of cloud streaming capabilities, something you would assume would be a staple in a device such as this. It turns out, however, that Sony is finally in the process of rolling out that feature- bit by bit.

The company has announced that it has pushed a new system update for the PlayStation Portal that, along with making adjustments related to PlayStation Link and speaker audio volume, also finally adds cloud streaming capabilities, which means players can stream games on the device online (as long as you have a suitable internet connection) without the need of a PS5. There are some caveats in place, however.

For now, cloud streaming is only available on PlayStation Portal in beta, and as such, accessible only to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. Specifically, currently, a library of over 120 PS5 games from the PlayStaton Plus Game Catalog (including Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart) is available to stream.

Players will be able to stream at up to 1080p and 60 FPS, and all DualSense features and cloud saves will be supported. Some features, however, won’t be available during this beta period, include 3D audio, game trials, streaming purchased games, Party voice chat, anything to do with the Create button, and “in-game commerce” (which means no microtransactions… yet).