The PlayStation Portal is a handheld device that combines the PS5's Dual Sense controller with a large 8-inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD screen. On its own, it lacks the hardware to be a standalone portable gaming handheld, but as an affordable companion to the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles, it offers remote play over Wi-Fi as well as cloud-gaming for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers.
Asobi: Remote Play is a new app available on SteamOS and coming soon to Windows 11 (check out the store page here), which essentially turns a Steam Deck into a PlayStation Portal. Asobi: Remote Play is a free-to-play app offering both PS5 and PS4 remote streaming over Wi-Fi, as well as cloud gaming for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. So yeah, it's PlayStation Portal for Steam.
Popular Now: Redditor buys an RTX 5070 Ti for $1,099 from Walmart, receives four graphics cards insteadNow, it's worth noting that the app has a premium tier via a single in-app purchase that unlocks its full potential. This takes the 1080p, 30 FPS SDR streaming of the free version and upgrades that to 1080p 60 FPS, with HDR and the option to upscale the image to 4K with additional 120 FPS support, too.
The premium version also offers full DualSense controller-like haptics, as well as detailed control over things like bitrate and latency modes (with up to 100 Mbps and 8ms). Although streaming PS5 content to a secondary device has been available on Linux for a while, Asobi: Remote Play is different in that it's a native Steam app and supports cloud streaming for the PlayStation Plus Premium library.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What streaming resolutions and frame rates does the free version of Asobi: Remote Play support on Steam Deck?
Does Asobi: Remote Play support PS4 as well as PS5 remote streaming over Wi‑Fi?
Can Asobi: Remote Play stream PlayStation Plus Premium cloud games on Steam Deck?
What DualSense features does the premium Asobi: Remote Play tier provide on a Steam Deck?
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Naturally, to access this you'll need to sync your PlayStation Network (PSN) account, but it's an additional layer of functionality that can turn a Steam Deck into a PlayStation Portal. Of course, as a third-party app, it will be interesting to see if Sony intervenes and blocks Asobi: Remote Play from functioning as a PlayStation Portal alternative.
