Summary
- Sony's rumored PlayStation handheld may be released around the same time as the PS6.
- The PS6 is expected to hit the market between late 2027 and late 2028.
The next PlayStation handheld may hit the market around the same time the PS6 does, according to a newly surfaced rumor. If this timeline turns out to be accurate, Sony will end up going through two full PlayStation generations without launching a standalone handheld console.
Sony's official announcement of the PlayStation Portal—previously known as Project Q Lite—in August 2023 reignited rumors of a full-fledged PlayStation handheld console once again being on the cards. The most credible indicator of that being the case dates back to a November 2024 report by Bloomberg, claiming that Sony was in the early stages of developing a new handheld at the time.
New PlayStation Handheld Rumor Corroborated by Unexpected Source
A well-known but unexpected source elaborates on the recently emerged report about Sony having another PlayStation handheld in the works.
The purported device is now alleged to debut close to the PS6 launch. That's according to a newly surfaced rumor originating from NeoGAF user HeisenbergFX4, who described the system as a "full blown [sic] PS handheld," citing unspecified sources. HeisenbergFX4's leaking credentials largely consist of sharing some credible insights into Activision Blizzard before the company was acquired by Microsoft in late 2023. While this doesn't exactly paint them as a particularly big authority on Sony's inner workings, the contents of their recent claim sound well within the realm of possibility.
Next PlayStation Handheld Was Never Likely to Launch During the PS5 Generation
Since Bloomberg previously reported that the next PlayStation handheld was "years away" from release as of late 2024, the rumored device never seemed likely to reach the store shelves during the PS5 generation. Sony has been saying that the PS5 is in the latter half of its life cycle since the start of 2024, suggesting that its successor will appear no later than 2028. Releasing a standalone handheld while still actively promoting the PS Portal—launched in November 2023—could also lead to issues such as consumer confusion and retail channel saturation, increasing the risk of one device cannibalizing the other.
The PS6 Generation May Arrive as Early as 2027
If recent reports suggesting that the rumored handheld is effectively a portable PS5 are accurate, the device could even risk cannibalizing Sony’s current-generation console, making a launch prior to the PS6 less likely. Separately, a recent insider report claimed Sony is targeting a late 2025 tapeout for its next-gen console system-on-chip. Taking this information at face value and based on historical trends, this could suggest that the PS6 is planned to be released as early as late 2027.
To date, Sony has released two standalone portable consoles: the PSP and the PS Vita. The former sold approximately 82.5 million units, while the latter only reached around 15 million and was effectively abandoned just four years after its release—in 2015—when Sony stopped developing first-party games for it.
