Sony's Project Q: Everything We Know About The Upcoming PlayStation Handheld

Following the PS5 and PS VR2, Sony has confirmed the Project Q handheld as the next piece of PlayStation hardware, but it's a bit different than what you might have expected. Instead of being a dedicated handheld for gaming like the PSP and Vita before it, Project Q will be a streaming device. It'll have the ability to play PS5 games, but that's through Remote Play over Wi-Fi instead of natively running them.

As the push toward game streaming continues, it's interesting to see Sony enter this field. The success of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck shows there's still a market for handhelds, and many fans were hoping Project Q would be the successor to the Vita. However, Sony's handheld is shaping up to be a complementary handheld device for the PS5 — and that's not entirely a bad thing. There is still an audience for a device like this even if it doesn't natively play any games. Having the ability to play something like "Ghost of Tsushima" or "God of War: Ragnarök" in bed is not something to sleep on.

Project Q was announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase in late May, confirming rumors that Sony was once again entering the handheld market. No official release date was given sadly, but a twist arrived almost a month later. Thanks to a document revealed during the FTC v. Microsoft case, we might have a good idea of when it'll come out. According to Microsoft, the device is expected to cost under $300 and launch later this year.

Of course, there's nothing else indicating that will be the case. We'll have to wait for an official announcement from Sony to know for certain, regarding both the release date and price tag. The as-yet-untitled Project Q could very well end up being under $300 — given that it's just a device built to stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi, it won't necessarily have to have the beefiest hardware on the market.

The Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck run their games natively, meaning you have to install them on the device before you can start playing. The specs of those two handhelds also determine how well a game runs. This won't be the case for Sony's Project Q as the game will be running on your PS5. Instead, the strength of your Wi-Fi and internet connection will be the most important factor. Unlike the Switch and Deck, you'll also be limited to playing at home as no 4G or 5G support has been announced with Sony's device.

In order to play a game, you'll need an internet connection of at least 15 Mbps, a PS5 with a game installed, and the handheld itself. The games will run with a 1080p resolution at 60 frames-per-second according to Sony, which certainly isn't bad for a streaming device. The screen is only an LCD screen, so don't expect to get a higher quality one like what's being offered with the OLED Switch version. (At launch anyway.)

For the time being, Sony's new PlayStation handheld will only stream games from the PS5 over a Wi-Fi connection. With Microsoft making a big push into cloud gaming by offering the ability to stream games on its consoles, phones, and computers, many expected Sony to follow suit. For what it's worth, Sony has been experimenting with cloud gaming through the PS Plus program. This does leave the door open just a little for it to add a similar feature to its Project Q handheld down the road.

But as it stands, things are trending in the direction of this being a nice companion to the home console, instead of something that will get somebody into the PlayStation ecosystem for the first time. Given we're still without an official name for the handheld, expect more details as we get closer to its release, possibly later in 2023.