A recent patent filed by Sony has the iconic developer looking at enabling PlayStation cloud gaming across a variety of streaming devices. The rise of cloud gaming has seen plenty of gaming's biggest developers turning to game streaming to bring their new games to more consoles than ever. Cloud versions of games have allowed platforms like the Nintendo Switch to stream games like Resident Evil 7 that the hardware may not be able to support, while others like Xbox have made Game Pass available through Samsung TVs. Now, Sony is looking to get in on the streaming trend.
Sony's newest foray into streaming would not be the first time the PlayStation developer has attempted to move into the games streaming market. Sony's former PlayStation Now streaming service allowed subscribers to stream a variety of older games through their PlayStation consoles. Sony's streaming capability was carried over with the overhaul of PlayStation Plus earlier this year, with Premium subscribers able to stream both modern and classic games through the service. Sony's newest patent would see the company looking to branch PlayStation streaming out to other devices.
The Sony patent covers a "pass-through device for cloud gaming" with Sony looking to develop a streaming attachment for several devices. The patent specifically lists popular streaming sticks like the Google Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV Stick, suggesting Sony is developing its own streaming stick. The device would allow players to stream their games directly to a TV without the need to connect a PlayStation device, specifically referring to "PlayStation Now" in images for the patent.
The return of PlayStation Now as a cloud gaming platform would come after Sony had previously discontinued the service earlier this year. Sony had sunsetted the PlayStation streaming service with the launch of the overhauled PlayStation Plus, with PS Plus Premium including game streaming. PS Now had previously been one of the first game streaming services following its launch in 2012. The platform's lineup of classic titles from the PS1, PS2, and PS3 were viewed as compensating for later PS3 models and all PS4 consoles lacking backwards compatibility.
Sony's newest streaming initiative joins many of its biggest competitors moving towards cloud gaming as a way to bring major games to more players. Along with the previously mentioned integration of Game Pass into Samsung TVs, Amazon's Luna service allows subscribers to stream games through the online marketplace's proprietary platform. Many developers have also released cloud versions of their games, like the Kingdom Hearts franchise coming to Switch through streaming. A Sony streaming stick would allow even more players to access some of the best games in the PlayStation library.
