Bloomberg reports that Sony is “in the early stages” of deal with a completely portable console that can play PlayStation 5 software application. The gadget is still “likely years away from launch,” according to “people familiar with its development” that spoke with Bloomberg anonymously.

The report comes less than a year after the launch of the PlayStation Portal, a Sony portable gadget created to stream PS5 video games operating on a console on the exact same regional network. Just recently, Sony upgraded the Portal firmware to let PlayStation Plus customers likewise stream PS5 video games from Sony’s central servers at as much as 1080p and 60 fps.

Sony’s reported PS5 portable strategies likewise followed months of reports that Microsoft has actually likewise been dealing with a brand-new Xbox console with a portable type element. In June, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer fanned to those reports by straight stating, “I think we should have a handheld, too… I like my ROG Ally, my Lenovo Legion Go, my Steam Deck… I think being able to play games locally is really important.”

Nintendo’s follow-up to the Switch, which will be officially revealed in the next couple of months, is likewise extensively anticipated to imitate the hybrid portable/console style of Nintendo’s last console.

Sony initially dipped its toes in the portable video gaming arena with 2005’s PlayStation Portable, which is still the only significant portable console to use optical disks (in Sony’s own exclusive UMD format). Sony followed that up with 2012’s PlayStation Vita, a well-liked console that brought a complete analog stick and a bigger high-resolution screen to the portable console area. Both efforts had a hard time to discover much market success compared to the sales juggernauts of Nintendo’s less expensive Nintendo DS and 3DS hardware lines.