Sony's PlayStation Portal handheld is getting a new update later today, bringing fresh features to the remote player's PS5 cloud streaming beta.
This new update is designed to "improve your gaming experience" with a slew of user interface upgrades and will be rolled out "later today" (per the official PlayStation Blog).
Here's a quick breakdown of the new features coming to the PlayStation Portal cloud streaming beta.
PlayStation Portal Cloud Streaming beta new features
The first new feature added in this update allows you to sort games within the Cloud Streaming (Beta) games catalog.
You will be able to sort supported PS5 titles by the following categories: Recently added to PS Plus (the default option), Name (A-Z and Z-A), or by Release Date (Old-New and vice versa).
Arguably, the most exciting feature in the update is the ability to capture gameplay during your cloud streaming sessions.
With the new update, the Create button on the PlayStation Portal will be enabled during a session, allowing you three new options in the beta. They are:
- Press once: Display the create menu
- Press and hold: Take a screenshot
- Press twice: Start/finish recording a video clip (clips of up to 1920x1080 in resolution and up to 3 mins in duration are supported)
Images and video clips captured during cloud streaming sessions will automatically be uploaded to the cloud server and available to download for 14 days within the PlayStation App.
The new update will also add a screen where players can wait for a spot to open when streaming servers are full.
This screen will display the estimated wait time on-screen, and your session will begin automatically as soon as it's your turn to hop in.
Sony's also implementing gameplay pausing in the new update.
When you press the power button once, you can put your Portal into rest mode, and the game will be paused. The session will be disconnected if your device remains in rest mode for more than 15 seconds.
Gameplay will also be temporarily paused when PS Portal users open the device's quick menu, and if a system error message appears at the bottom of the screen.
Naturally, pausing won't work in every situation, including during online multiplayer.
Users will also receive notifications if a streaming session is about to close due to inactivity of over 10 minutes.
Finally, players will be greeted with a user feedback screen at the end of a session, inviting them to rate their satisfaction with their game time.
This update is Sony's latest PlayStation Portal upgrade and comes mere weeks after adding select classic PS1 and PSP games to the streaming library.
Accessing the PlayStation Portal Cloud Streaming Beta
If you're not already enrolled but keen to get more use out of your PlayStation Portal, you'll need to have an active PlayStation Plus Premium subscription and reside in one of select regions (the U.S. and U.K. are both in the program).
You'll also need a broadband connection with minimum 5Mbps upload and download speeds (though to stream games at 1080p, Sony recommends speeds of 23 Mbps, 15 Mbps minimum).
For more info, including how to set up Cloud Streaming on your device, head to the relevant PlayStation Support webpage.
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