Sony is reportedly readying its own Nintendo Switch 2-style handheld console to launch alongside PS6

PS handheld/PS6

Sony is reportedly hard at work on a new PlayStation handheld console to take on Nintendo Switch 2 and the rest of the portable PC gaming space. The latest details are pointing at a proper PlayStation handheld this time around, not just a sort of companion streaming device for your home console like the PlayStation Portal Player. 

While rumors and leaks for a full-on PlayStation handheld aren’t a new thing, they have been relatively quiet since late last year. But with the Switch 2 ready to go prime time, a series of new PC handhelds surfacing, and Microsoft digging its feet in even deeper into the space, the latest suggests Sony is readying a new on-the-go gaming machine of its own that could launch alongside or close to the debut of PlayStation 6. 

The latest details seem to originate from a somewhat prominent Xbox leaker known as HeisenbergFX4 on the NeoGaf forums via Tom’s Guide. While nothing is obviously confirmed by Sony at this point, this user claims a “full blown PS handheld is coming.” 

This same leaker who claims to have insider knowledge on the new PlayStation handheld also claimed sources suggest the new handheld will debut sometime in and around the launch of PS6 – this is likely sometime in 2027 or 2028. 

Other sources suggest the new PlayStation handheld will land as a separate release entirely. While it will still be directly tied to the PS6 ecosystem, it might launch a year or more after the main PlayStation 6 hardware. 

Additionally, we have heard rumors the new handheld will come available in two models: One that’s more of a sequel to the existing Portable Player that will be directly tied to PS5/6 and deliver a similar game “streaming” experience. The other is more of a full-blown handheld in the vein of Switch 2 or one of the many PC handhelds already out in the wild – it will be able to run games natively. 

Nothing is official here and all of this is firmly planted in rumor territory right now. But with Switch 2 potentially set to usher in the biggest gaming launch ever, and Microsoft already hinting at its own plans for a handheld, it certainly makes sense for Sony to go entirely portable once again. The current Portal Player was very much a let down for many, or at least not the PSP successor many folks hoped for, but it sounds like Sony is at least listening. If any of this is true, and I happen to think it probably is, chances are this upcoming new Sony handheld is going to both out power the Switch 2 by a serious margin and cost just as much or more.