The PlayStation Portal, Sony’s new handheld gaming accessory, is available to preorder now at a handful of retailers (see it at Amazon). It costs $199.99 and is set to release November 15. The PS Portal is not, however, a standalone device, like the PS Vita. It’s a remote player for the PlayStation 5, so you’ll need a PS5 to use it. That said, it streams games from your console over Wi-Fi, essentially letting you play your PS5 games from anywhere in your home.
Preorder PlayStation Portal
PS Portal is basically a DualSense controller with an 8-inch LCD screen in the middle of it. It lets you stream games from your PS5 at up to 60fps, with a 1080p screen resolution, so it should look plenty sharp considering the screen’s dimensions. It also features the full slate of vibrations, haptic feedback, and adaptive triggers you’d get from a standard DualSense — something that’s missing if you stream your PS5 games to a phone, tablet, computer, or Steam Deck. You can check out our PlayStation Portal hands-on preview for more info.
Backbone Controller
It should be said, the PlayStation Portal isn’t the only way to stream your PS5 games over Wi-Fi within your home. As mentioned above, you can do that on many internet-connected devices, including phones, tablets, computers, and Steam Deck. Just download the PS Remote Play app (details here). It’s a little more complicated to stream to Steam Deck, but just search for Chiaki and you can probably figure it out.
You can even buy an officially licensed PlayStation Backbone controller. Backbone is generally considered the best controller for phones, so it’s a good, cheaper alternative to the PS Portal. You can also check out our PlayStation Portal vs. Steam Deck comparison for a look at both handhelds side-by-side.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on (deep breath) Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and the social network formerly known as Twitter.
