Steam Deck Can Now Stream PlayStation Games From the Cloud — No PS5 Required

A new app called Asobi: Remote Play has opened a public playtest that brings PlayStation cloud streaming to Valve's Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and other SteamOS or Linux devices — no PS5 console needed. (Eurogamer)

Developer Ichenzo announced the playtest on the app's subreddit, and email invites are now going out to everyone who signed up. The app's headline feature is PS Plus Premium cloud streaming: subscribers to Sony's top-tier membership can pull games from the cloud catalogue directly onto a Steam Deck. That means titles like Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Ghost of Yōtei become playable on Valve's handheld without Sony's console sitting in the same room. (VideoCardz)

PS Plus Premium is Sony's highest subscription tier, and cloud streaming lets a game run on remote servers while the video feeds to your screen — so the device in your hands does not need the processing power to run the game itself. The feature requires a PSN account with an active Premium subscription. Asobi can also stream supported PS5 games from a console you already own, similar to Sony's own Remote Play function. (Notebookcheck)

During the playtest, every premium feature is unlocked for free. That includes 60fps streaming, HDR, controller haptics, 4K upscaling, and manual bitrate control — settings that let players trade image sharpness against connection stability. Once the test ends, the free version drops to a 1080p, 30fps ceiling. Pricing for the full premium unlock has not been announced.

The app effectively mirrors what Sony's own PS Portal handheld does. The PS Portal, which retails for £220, gained cloud streaming in 2025 — letting users play PS5 titles without owning the console. Asobi: Remote Play brings that same capability to the Steam Deck, a device that starts at a lower price and runs a far broader software library. (Eurogamer)

One important distinction: Asobi is not a Sony product. It has no official affiliation with PlayStation, Valve, or Steam. It is a third-party Linux app built by an independent developer, and the PS Plus Premium requirement is simply because the cloud catalogue itself lives behind Sony's subscription wall. The cloud streaming feature was first spotted by VideoCardz. (Eurogamer)

A Windows version is also in the works. Ichenzo described it as coming "soonish," which means PC users not running SteamOS or Linux should eventually get access too.