Playing nearly 4,000 PS5 games on a handheld without owning a console sounds like it's bypassing Sony's hardware business entirely—but look closer at the fine print, and it all circles back to subscriptions. The third-party streaming app in question, "Asobi: Remote Play," is currently making waves for its support of Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Linux devices, and it's still in testing.
Its core feature is remote play: streaming your own PS4 or PS5's display from home to your Steam Deck, letting you pick up where you left off with full controller support—a concept similar to Sony's official Remote Play. What really makes people take a second look is the additional PlayStation cloud streaming option it offers—players don't need to own a physical console at all. As long as you meet the eligibility requirements, you can pull game footage straight from the cloud and play right on your Steam Deck.
According to currently available information, this cloud streaming service supports around 3,970 games, covering a substantial number of PS5 titles. That number alone is enough to show this isn't some barebones experimental app. However, "no console needed" comes with a catch: to enable cloud gaming, players must hold a PlayStation Plus Premium membership. In other words, you save on the console cost, but you can't skip the monthly subscription fee.
As for controls, "Asobi: Remote Play" currently only supports gamepad and Steam Deck's built-in controller input—keyboard and mouse aren't supported yet. That could be a dealbreaker for players used to keyboard-and-mouse setups when playing PlayStation titles, but it shouldn't matter much for those who already treat the Steam Deck primarily as a handheld device.
"Asobi: Remote Play" is still in its Playtest phase, and players can sign up to participate through its Steam page. No official launch date has been announced yet, so the full experience and feature set will have to wait for the final release to be confirmed.
