AYANEO's first gaming phone is a beautiful tribute to the Xperia Play

More than four months after AYANEO first announced it was working on a phone, the company has finally revealed the design. As expected, it’s a modern take on the Xperia Play, incorporating not just the design language, but also the name.

The AYANEO Pocket PLAY is a modern take on the ill-fated Sony Ericsson handheld, with a sliding design that will take you right back to 2011. Several other recent devices like the ANBERNIC RG Slide and the magnetic MCON controller also incorporate sliding mechanisms, but this is the first sliding gaming phone released in nearly 15 years.

When opened, it reveals a D-pad, buttons, and two touchpads. AYANEO calls these “smart touchpads,” and the company has committed to using similar tech on its upcoming Pocket VERT handheld.

The controller also features the company’s signature AYANEO button, indicating it will come with the handheld-focused suite of software enhancements found on its other gaming devices. There’s also a button that appears to pull up an app menu, as well as another mysterious button with an unclear purpose. It points toward the bottom right, which could indicate a picture-in-picture mode.

Apart from the sliding controller, it’s a minimal, but modern, smartphone design. There are two camera lenses on the back, with a flush finish and no camera bump. There are also four shoulder buttons on the top of the device, with the volume rocker and power button located between them. The USB-C charging port is located on the bottom of the phone, which means you probably won’t be able to play while connected to a charger.

Two sets of holes, which are likely stereo speakers, are also found on either end of the device. The placement looks like it would be blocked by your palms when gaming, but we’ll have to get our hands on it for testing to confirm. An additional set of holes on either side indicates active cooling, which very few phones have.

In any case, AYANEO CEO Arthur Zhang has previously hinted that it won’t have the most powerful chipset available. That likely rules out the Snapdragon 8 Elite and above, although full specs have yet to be revealed.

Today’s video revealed two colorways: white/silver and black. The white colorway looks very similar to the PSP Go, but both have AYANEO’s uniquely minimal design language. The device is part of the company’s REMAKE Retro series, which “blends innovative modern technology with the replication of classic designs.”

We still don’t have details on the specs, pricing, or availability of the AYANEO Pocket PLAY. The Kickstarter pre-launch page is now live, so you can sign up to receive notifications. This is the first time AYANEO has launched a device via Kickstarter rather than Indiegogo, which may be a result of recent policy changes that have delayed shipments on several campaigns.