PlayStation 6: Will there be a handheld to accompany the new home console?

With the latest news about the PlayStation 6, speculation about a handheld from Sony is making the rounds.

Just recently, a major report revealed that AMD will once again supply the SoC for the PlayStation 6 – and the reason for Sony’s decision is said to be that it will make the new consoles easier to implement backwards compatibility with the PS5. Now, however, another report is causing a stir and is bringing a possible new PlayStation handheld back into play, which has been the subject of speculation from time to time anyway.

Now the previously reliable hardware insider KeplerL2 has spoken out. In the gaming forum NeoGAF, he revealed that he had heard about two separate SoCs, i.e. systems-on-a-chips, that Sony is working on for the next hardware generation.

However, if Sony is working with AMD on not just one but two chips, then this basically only allows two conclusions: Either Sony is planning a similar approach to Microsoft with the Xbox Series X/S and is releasing a more affordable version with weaker performance data alongside the more powerful PS6 – which seems unlikely for Sony, however – or the company is considering a combination of home console and handheld for the new generation.

In particular, the regular outcry from developers that the Series S makes game development more difficult because compromises have to be made is likely to deter Sony from pursuing a Series S approach. In view of previous rumors about a new PlayStation handheld, it seems much more likely that a suitable handheld could be offered alongside the PlayStation 6 as the main platform.

This is all the more true as the handheld market is becoming more important again. The Switch 2 will largely retain its current form factor and be usable on the go, Valve is working on a successor to the Steam Deck and Microsoft is also rumored to be working on a mobile Xbox – Sony is unlikely to hold back. We’ll keep you updated on how the rumor develops!