Sony's preparing a huge PS5 streaming upgrade

Sony's getting ready for the launch of the PlayStation Q handheld games console, and wants to deliver PS5 game streaming generally. According to new reports from Sony itself, that's exactly what it's testing right now.

Writing on the official PlayStation blog, Sony VP Nick Maguire revealed that the brand is to add PlayStation 5 games to its existing cloud offering: "We’re currently testing cloud streaming for supported PS5 games – this includes PS5 titles from the PlayStation Plus game catalogue and game trials, as well as supported digital PS5 titles that players own," he said.

That means, when the feature launches, you'll be able to stream supported cloud games directly from Sony's servers. If like me you're constantly doing the delete/install dance to free up space on your PlayStation 5 – something I'm still doing even after installing one of the best PS5 SSDs – that's particularly good news.

What will you need to stream PS5 games?

So far, this feature looks like it'll be reserved for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, who can already stream PS3 and PS4 games.

As Maguire says, "As a Premium member, it’ll be easier to jump into your favorite games without downloading them first onto your PS5 console.

"Our goal is to add this as an additional benefit to PlayStation Plus Premium as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the value of PlayStation Plus."

There's no indication of a launch date for the new streaming games yet, let alone a list of supported games. And you probably shouldn't hold your breath for Xbox Game Pass-style streaming of first-party games on day one.

However, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Maguire said that Sony's own blockbusters will be released "outside the service first". He also made it pretty clear that Sony isn't planning to compete with Microsoft, which makes first-party games available on Game Pass from day one, when it comes to exclusives: selling them solo and only moving them to PlayStation Plus Premium after a year or so is "working", he said.

As for PlayStation Q, Sony's streaming handheld, we're still in the dark about when it'll launch. Sony only says that it'll launch "later" this year, although the inside gossip claims it's scheduled for a November launch.