Sony PlayStation Cloud Streaming graduates from beta with new features

Sony has just launched Cloud Streaming for PS5 games on the PlayStation Portal remote player. This feature goes live on November 5 at 6PM PT and requires a PlayStation Plus Premium membership. It succeeds the Cloud Streaming beta that was introduced last year and allows you to play titles from your library and PS Plus catalogs.

At launch, thousands of PS5 games support Cloud Streaming, some popular ones include Astro Bot, Borderlands 4, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Fortnite, Ghost of Yōtei. Grand Theft Auto V, and Resident Evil 4. There are also hundreds of compatible games in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog including Cyberpunk 2077, God of War Ragnarök, Hogwarts Legacy, Sword of the Sea, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered.

To mark the launch of Cloud Streaming the PS Portal home screen has been refreshed to feature three dedicated tabs. The Remote Play tab is used to connect to a paired PS5 console to play installed games (PS Plus not required); the Cloud Streaming tab is a new dedicated screen for instantly streaming compatible PS5 games; and the Search tab allows you to quickly look up any game that supports Cloud Streaming.

The update also introduces new features for both Remote Play and Cloud Streaming sessions. There is 3D audio support available in supported games when using compatible wired or PlayStation Link wireless audio devices (Pulse Explore/Elite); passcode lock which gives you a new security option to protect your device; and a quick menu option to check the quality of your internet connection.

New features specific to Cloud Streaming include in-game purchases without leaving the game session; new accessibility options including screen reader and adjustable text size from Settings > Cloud Streaming; and game invitations that let you receive and join multiplayer sessions directly from the Quick menu.

Finally, PlayStation said that Cloud Streaming gives players new usage scenarios for the PS Portal including simultaneous use that lets you play a game while a friend is using your PS5 under a separate account, or while someone is watching a film on the console. It also enables true portability by letting you stream PS5 games anywhere with a high-speed Wi-Fi connection, even if your console back home is powered off or is in use by another account.