Sony is working on a portable game console that would allow gamers to access PlayStation 5 games in ways that its current PlayStation Portal can't, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The $200 Portal can currently stream games from the PlayStation Network through an internet connection and access a player's game library locally, but it can't play games on its own without an internet connection, like Nintendo's Switch console. What Sony is working on would be more like a full-featured PlayStation 5, but portable, according to the report. Bloomberg says Sony is still in the "early stages" of development, which means no pricing or release date information is available and it could be years before an announcement is made, if it ever gets that far.
Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The rumors follow a series of similar reports about Microsoft developing its own portable Xbox console. While Microsoft has limited experience in the handheld gaming space, Sony has previously released portables including the Sony PSP and the PlayStation Vita, which played either disc-based cartridges or downloadable games. The Vita was released in 2011 (2012 in the US) -- it's been a long time since Sony debuted a stand-alone portable device.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is expected to release its Switch 2 console next year. No formal announcement has been made about a release date or its specs, but rumors suggest a more graphically powerful console that will be backward compatible with existing Switch games.