Rumoured to be releasing as early as this November, the alleged PlayStation handheld device would utilise PS5’s Remote Play over cloud streaming.
Just when you thought that PlayStation had already fulfilled its hardware goals for this year with the recent launch of PSVR 2 and PS5 Pro also seemingly around the corner, the Japanese tech giant is allegedly prepping to release another bit of kit before 2023’s end. It’s rumoured to be a PlayStation Vita successor in all but name – and it’s supposedly set to release as early as this November.
The upcoming PlayStation handheld gaming device is said to be codenamed the Q Lite, and according to notorious industry insider Tom Henderson (via Inside Gaming) it will allow players to stream indie and AAA games directly from their PS5 to this device. It’d be yet another use of the console’s vastly underused Remote Play function, which currently lets people stream games to their PC and phone. You’re still playing games remotely over a wireless connection using this method, true, but it’s objectively more reliable than cloud streaming where the game is running thousands of miles away instead of mere feet away from you.
Henderson also mentions that, according to his sources, the PlayStation handheld will support adaptive streaming “up to 1080p and 60fps”. This is a slightly higher resolution than Valve’s still wildly popular portable PC, the Steam Deck. The Q Lite also allegedly features an 8-inch LCD touchscreen in its centre, uses the same adaptive triggers seen in the PS5 DualSense controller and all the usual handheld gaming device features like speakers, an audio input jack and volume buttons.
Henderson’s initial report failed to mention a release window, but in a recent appearance on the Iron Lords Podcast, he speculated that the Q Lite’s launch is scheduled for November this year. “It is going to release between the PS5 Pro, which is end of 2024 at the moment, and the new PS5 with a detachable disc drive,” he said. “A lot of people said it’s going to be 2024, but at the moment, it’s looking like November" speaking to the PlayStation handheld specifically.
PlayStation targeting a November release window for its new handheld gaming device would make sense seeing as it doesn’t currently have a AAA exclusive announced for this time. The Q Lite launching around then would help plug this gap, plus act as a welcome optional extra for people looking to buy a PS5 for the first time during the holiday season.
Let’s get portable
As someone who picked up a PlayStation Vita at launch, way back when in 2012, the thought of PlayStation dipping its toe back into the portable space excites me immensely. And yes, while this Q Lite wouldn’t see PS4 and PS5 games play remotely on the device itself, the truth is that I do most of my portable gaming chilled out on the sofa in my house anyway.
For the longest time the Nintendo Switch used to fit into my gaming lifestyle in this way, with great games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey being perfect to pick away at while I have something on TV in the background. The hybrid strategy has worked out great for Nintendo, so much so that Valve was encouraged to enter the handheld gaming space with the Steam Deck – another rollicking sales success story.
PlayStation hasn’t yet achieved the same level of accomplishment with its PSVR 2, so it makes sense that it’s turning to the portable space again instead. Better yet, the beauty of making the PlayStation handheld a Remote Play only device is that you don’t have to split your game development teams to work on either traditional or VR games as is the case with PSVR 2.
If the PlayStation handheld can truly support PS5 games at 1080p 60fps and touts the same haptic features found in the DualSense controller, I think it would be a true contender to the Nintendo Switch’s handheld crown as the Steam Deck has been in recent months.
