Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

A packed 89-minute DF Direct Weekly for you this week, as the team discuss the controversy surrounding AMD's technology partnership with Starfield. Does the deal mean that AMD is paying to block competing DLSS and XeSS upscalers from appearing in the game? AMD says: no comment. Meanwhile, the team mull over the week's FTC vs Microsoft revelations, Rich is excited by huge Assassin's Creed Unity perf improvements on Intel Arc, Red Dead Redemption seems to be getting a remaster, while amazing new footage of the GameCube launch in Japan at Spaceworld 2000 emerges. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:04 News 01: Starfield to skip out on DLSS, XeSS? 00:22:28 News 02: FTC vs Microsoft court fight continues 00:46:02 News 03: Red Dead Redemption remaster incoming? 00:52:08 News 04: Assassin’s Creed Unity gets huge performance boost on Intel Arc GPUs 00:57:42 News 05: New Space World 2000 footage unearthed! 01:08:55 Supporter Q1: If I run a 60fps game on an 85Hz CRT, will there be judder? 01:10:19 Supporter Q2: With the next-gen Switch rumoured to have PS4-level power, what specs would it have? 01:15:19 Supporter Q3: Is there something special about the Steam Deck’s refresh rate changing capabilities, or could a new Switch offer it as well? 01:18:31 Supporter Q4: Could a temporal upsampling system integrate high resolution keyframes to improve image quality? 01:21:09 Supporter Q5: Would there be space in the gaming market for a high-end $1000 PS5 Pro? 01:26:22 Supporter Q6: Which gaming executives would you like to see duke it out in a cage match? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, John discusses the reaction to the Final Fantasy 16 reviews, the focus on the 720p-1080p performance mode and whether the game was actually targeting 30fps all along. Meanwhile, the team are impressed by the latest Nintendo Direct, Xbox raises prices, while the lack of DLSS in AMD sponsored PC titles once again comes to the fore. Also: to celebrate our 117th edition, the team share their favourite Halo memories. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:49 News 01: Final Fantasy 16 review reaction! 00:23:19 News 02: June Nintendo Direct impressions 00:47:37 News 03: Microsoft raises Series X, Game Pass pricing 00:56:26 News 04: AMD blocking DLSS in sponsored PC titles? 01:04:32 News 05: Quake 2 Remastered leaks! 01:08:14 Supporter Q1: Could GPU makers offer cards with user-expandable VRAM? 01:10:27 Supporter Q2: Could a ‘PS5 Pro’ come in at a boundary-pushing price, like $1000 USD? 01:15:14 Supporter Q3: Would automatic frame-rate capping for games on VRR displays work? 01:18:10 Supporter Q4: Of the Halo games, which is your favourite? And which impresses most from a technical perspective? 01:25:29 Supporter Q5: How exciting is it that Todd Howard praised DF in a recent podcast appearance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest DF Direct Weekly 'drops' with John, Rich and Alex reuniting at the mics after a massive week of not-E3 showcase news and fallout. Phil Spencer appears to be ruling out a mid-gen 'Pro' console update for the Xbox Series machines, Matt Booty says that Xbox One first-party game development is finally over, while Sony reveals that PS5 game streaming is coming to its subscription service. Meanwhile, the Starfield 'storm in a teacup' 30fps discourse continues, while Alex comes face-to-face (in a figurative sense) with his more youthful, optimistic self, posing yet more 'Battaglia time travel' discussion. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:05 News 01: No Xbox mid-gen enhanced machine planned? 00:21:17 News 02: Microsoft no longer developing for Xbox One 00:32:08 News 03: TLOU PC patch 1.1 analysed! 00:44:47 News 04: Sony announces PS5 cloud streaming 00:55:41 Supporter Q1: Should Starfield have an uncapped VRR mode on consoles? 01:05:19 Supporter Q2: I didn’t like the 30fps option in FF16, but Tears of the Kingdom seems fine - why could this be? 01:07:26 Supporter Q3: Alex was once excited about the possibilities of DX12 several years ago. Does he miss that version of himself? 01:12:05 Supporter Q4: Could systems with unified memory setups be a solution to VRAM woes on PCs? 01:15:32 Supporter Q5: Are FSR 2’s image quality concerns an issue for console software going forward? 01:22:20 Supporter Q6: If you could alter one thing about game development, what would it be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the impressions/reactions video you've been waiting for - and it took time because we wanted to investigate what was shown more deeply. John Linneman and Alex Battaglia share their notes on the Starfield Direct, discuss why the game is 30fps on consoles, what 4K on Series X actually means (and the implications for Series S) before moving onto the rendering tech on display and what they think about the actual game. 00:00 Overview 00:53 Why is Starfield 30fps on consoles? 12:31 Visual impressions and real-time global illumination 17:15 Reflections and motion blur 23:31 Screen-space shadows and terrain rendering 28:06 Volumetric lighting, fog, and bokeh depth of field 32:40 Character rendering 36:01 Gameplay impressions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A company revitalised based on the latest Ubisoft Forward, we saw a big bunch of excellent games and a couple in particular that look set to deliver proper 'next-gen' rendering - Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Beyond those 'bangers', the likes of AC Mirage and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also caught the eye of John Linneman and Alex Battaglia. Plus: a quick look at the Capcom showcase, including new footage of Pragmata... 00:00 Overview 01:05 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora 15:23 Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 20:22 Skull and Bones 23:00 The Crew Motorfest 28:08 Assassin’s Creed Mirage 33:50 Star Wars Outlaws 48:02 Pragmata Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode of DF Direct, John Linneman, Oliver Mackenzie and Alex Battaglia share their reactions and impressions to the excellent Xbox Showcase 2023, going through the event game by game with analysis and insights. Has Microsoft delivered the best event of the summer season so far? 00:00:00 Overview 00:02:32 Fable, South of Midnight 00:11:32 Star Wars Outlaws, 33 Immortals 00:17:30 Payday 3, Persona 3 Reload 00:25:35 Avowed, Sea of Thieves 00:31:31 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 00:42:12 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess 00:47:27 Forza Motorsport, The Elder Scrolls Online, Overwatch 2 00:56:35 Jusant, Still Wakes the Deep 01:01:09 Dungeons of Hinterberg, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty 01:08:13 Cities: Skylines 2, Metaphor ReFantazio 01:12:24 Towerborne, Clockwork Revolution 01:18:04 Series S 1TB 01:20:58 Starfield first impressions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Geoffcon aka Keigh3 aka Summer Games Fest is back, kicking off with a mammoth show crammed with new games of varying quality, Nicolas Cage and a big bunch of obvious ads. In this DF Direct special, John, Rich and Alex mull over the various reveals and wurld prm'ears, debate the inclusion of the letter 'i' in 'mobile', dive deeply into Spider-Man's symbiote lore, get excited about the new Sonic game and ponder the big question - how many of the games in the show were running on Unreal Engine? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:08 News 01: Summer Games Fest 2023 reaction! Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat 1 00:10:48 Path of Exile 2, Exoprimal, Dead by Daylight, Witchfire, Crossfire: Sierra Squad, Remnant 2 00:18:22 Sonic Superstars, Lies of P, Sand Land 00:27:27 Throne and Liberty, Party Animals, Crash Team Rumble, 00:31:51 Alan Wake 2, Space Marine 2, Yes Your Grace, Toxic Commando 00:42:42 Baldur’s Gate 3, Palworld, Black Desert Online, LOTR: Return to Moria 00:51:44 Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden 00:55:51 Like a Dragon Gaiden, Under the Water, Fae Farm 01:04:18 King Arthur, Stellaris Nexus, Star Trek Infinite, Lysfanga 01:09:47 Immortals of Aveum, Fortnite, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth 01:24:19 Supporter Q1: Will DLSS 3 evolve in the same way DLSS 2 did? 01:28:14 Supporter Q2: What’s up with DF getting Diablo 4 code late? 01:29:22 Supporter Q3: Is there an ideal frame-rate target for games? 01:32:41 Supporter Q4: Do recent PC gaming woes stem from the relative strength of console hardware this generation? 01:41:09 Supporter Q5: What old console or graphics technology would you like to see get a few years of active development? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The news of a PC port from Nixxes for Rachet and Clank raises the question: can PC handle the extreme storage demands of the Insomniac PS5 showcase? Alex weighs in with his thoughts on how the port will work. Meanwhile, Nvidia demos AI-driven conversations with NPCs, Redfall's development woes make the news again, while John's concerned about Nintendo's views towards emulation. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:08 News 01: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart coming to PC! 00:19:38 News 02: Nvidia demos AI-generated NPC conversations 00:37:54 News 03: Dolphin emulator blocked from Steam release 00:44:41 News 04: Redfall’s development issues detailed 00:54:56 News 05: HDMI 2.1 capture cards announced - but there’s a catch! 01:02:27 Supporter Q1: What are your predictions for next week’s Xbox showcase? 01:07:52 Supporter Q2: Does XMP make a big difference on DDR5 RAM? 01:10:36 Supporter Q3: Are plasma TVs viable for high-quality retro gaming? 01:14:54 Supporter Q4: Why doesn’t the Switch support HDR? Could it be included in a “Switch 2”? 01:16:32 Supporter Q5: Are we in a downwards spiral of declining developer output and GPU stagnation? 01:22:34 Supporter Q6: If a game runs at a locked 30fps or 60fps, is there any benefit to setting your console to 120Hz output? 01:25:55 Supporter Q7: Has Jensen’s prophecy been fulfilled already? Is Gran Turismo 7 ever going to hit PCs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the first of the summer games events done and dusted, it's down to Rich, Oliver and John to shift through the games of the Sony showcase, bemoan trailergeddon, regale Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with praise then to discuss the merits of the Project Q streaming handheld. Meanwhile, the lack of a physical release for Alan Wake 2 upsets John - and Rich makes him talk about Marathon. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:15 News 01: Sony showcase recap! 00:40:02 News 02: Alan Wake 2 impresses, but why is it digital-only? 00:52:06 News 03: “Project Q” streaming handheld revealed 01:05:45 Supporter Q1: Nvidia’s server GPUs seem in heavy demand, so might the company shift resources away from gaming? 01:14:09 Supporter Q2: What’s the best way to measure and communicate the concept of frame-time stability? 01:23:44 Supporter Q3: Isn’t the 4060 Ti a lot more impressive when you bring DLSS 3 into the picture? 01:27:10 Supporter Q4: Could John make a video on running modern games on consumer grade CRT displays? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the show, Alex gets to grips with the latest patch for Jedi Survivor, testing to see whether the game's profound tech issues have been resolved. Meanwhile, the team discusses Nvidia's RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti announcements, while John has much to say about the poor state of day one console launches. Meanwhile, the buzz surrounding mid-gen console refreshes continues - but do we actually need them? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:52 News 01: Jedi Survivor PC performance update! 00:17:04 News 02: RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti GPUs announced 00:48:20 News 03: Contemporary gaming in difficult territory? 01:00:48 Supporter Q1: Is there really a need for enhanced consoles when we have so few proper current-gen games? 01:07:17 Supporter Q2: Do you think games like The Callisto Protocol or Jedi Survivor would benefit from a 40fps mode? 01:12:32 Supporter Q3: Any thoughts on the UE5-powered Layers of Fear demo on PC? 01:16:51 Supporter Q4: Has Rich got any new thoughts on how to approach CPU video reviews? 01:25:32 Supporter Q5: Has the workflow for capturing and producing HDR gaming videos improved over the past few years? 01:32:25 Supporter Q6: John’s room tour. When? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the biggest - if not the biggest - games of 2023 launched this week. Nintendo's Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has recently a massively positive reaction. John discusses his review and shares more thoughts on the game, while digging more deeply into the eternal question - is it too big for Switch? Meanwhile, Rich drops in from time off to share his impressions with the Asus ROG Ally and A Plague Tale: Requiem gets a 60fps patch... but what does it actually do? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:04 News 01: Tears of the Kingdom launches! 00:26:05 News 02: Sharp producing next-gen Switch LCD? 00:34:49 News 03: ASUS ROG Ally reviews drop + our impressions 00:50:20 News 04: A Plague Tale: Requiem gets 60fps patch 00:56:36 News 05: John gets a new CRT! 01:02:53 Supporter Q1: With low sales and poor software support, where does the PS VR2 go from here? 01:07:36 Supporter Q2: Could DF revisit some of the recent troubled PC ports and see how they run now after patches? 01:11:23 Supporter Q3: Why does DLSS 3 produce a smoother experience in games with high CPU load? 01:15:47 Supporter Q4: Developers like to blame specific PC configurations for user issues. Could DF emphasize that PC performance issues are often common to all configurations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DF Direct Weekly returns after a seismic week in gaming, with Oliver, John and Alex discussing the crisis state of PC gaming 'in the here and now', raking over the coals of the deeply disappointing Redfall release, while we had to take a look at Man of Medan on Switch, which targets a cinematic 24fps. Meanwhile, John clues us in on the latest Analogue Pocket firmware update. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:58 News 01: PC gaming in crisis 00:24:12 News 02: Redfall reaction and follow-up 00:54:38 News 03: Man of Medan hits Switch at 24fps! 01:01:11 News 04: Analogue Pocket gets big firmware update 01:04:46 Supporter Q1: If a game developer is under the influence when implementing RTGI, could that be “baked” lighting? 01:05:37 Supporter Q2: Need for Speed (2015) still looks great today. What are some other early last-gen games that still look fantastic? 01:10:29 Supporter Q3: Could you tell the difference between DLSS 3 and regular rendering at high frame-rates? 01:14:05 Supporter Q4: Can we have an award ceremony for the worst PC ports of the year? 01:16:08 Supporter Q5: What are the possible incentives for publishers to release games in a decent state? 01:18:53 Supporter Q6: I’m worried that FF16, Starfield, and Zelda will release in a poor state. How can we make companies more aware of game issues? 01:22:47 Supporter Q7: Are Jedi Survivor’s image quality issues related to using an older version of FSR 2? 01:28:33 Supporter Q8: Do you prefer a higher resolution with less detail, or a lower resolution with more detail? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week the team discuss the arrival of Star Wars Jedi Survivor, share first impressions after EA delayed sending review code, then move onto 'The Power of the Cloud' seemingly blocking Microsoft's Activision acquisition. Rich shares a conversation he had with the Xbox Sustainability Team on improving in-game efficiency, while benchmarks finally emerge on the impressive looking Asus ROG Ally handheld. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:45 News 01: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor impressions! 00:23:57 News 02: Microsoft Activision purchase hits roadblock 00:34:30 News 03: Microsoft pushes for Xbox energy sustainability 00:48:21 News 04: ASUS ROG Ally chips benchmarked 00:55:50 Supporter Q1: If RT becomes a big rendering focus, could future GPUs regress in rasterization performance? 01:00:36 Supporter Q2: Are 8GB GPUs DOOMED to muddy textures on PC? 01:07:33 Supporter Q3: How did Don feel about his first video? 01:11:15 Supporter Q4: Will you make a GTA V retro time capsule video when the title hits its 10th anniversary later this year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rich is joined by Alex and Oliver to discuss a range of topics, including the Unrecord footage that's gone 'viral', the launch of the first Unreal Engine 5.1 title outside of Fortnite to use Lumen and Nanite, and the arrival of the Horizon Burning Shores DLC - which looks amazing. Meanwhile, discover why Digital Foundry won't be doing another office tour and learn about Rich's 'cone of respectability'. It's all here in this 68 minute show! 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:45 News 01: Unrecord footage revealed 00:09:28 News 02: Immortals of Aveum showcases UE5 features 00:19:12 News 03: Horizon Burning Shores launches! 00:26:36 News 04: ASUS ROG Ally specs leak 00:34:48 News 05: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. shown with path tracing 00:41:35 Supporter Q1: Could Cyberpunk on PS5/Series X run the RT Overdrive mode? 00:49:01 Supporter Q2: If AMD sold APUs with much more graphics power, would they sell well? 00:55:21 Supporter Q3: Does “going gold” really matter anymore for modern games? 01:01:00 Supporter Q4: Would RTX Remix work with emulated games? 01:02:40 Supporter Q5: When will we get another Digital Foundry office tour? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rich, Alex and Oliver sit down for the latest DF Direct Weekly, discussing the controversial move for Microsoft to ship Redfall at 30fps with a performance mode to follow, along with confirmation that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justive League is getting a length delay. The team muse over the implications of Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive changing the face of PC graphics in future games, while the third - and last - Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer is also discussed. Do we still think it's 'too big for Switch'...? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:52 News 01: Redfall to launch at 30fps on consoles 00:16:15 News 02: Suicide Squad delayed to 2024 00:21:54 News 03: Cyberpunk 2077 RT Overdrive mode launches 00:38:13 News 04: Final Tears of the Kingdom trailer drops 00:42:29 Supporter Q1: Does the negative reaction to Redfall's 30fps cap trivialize the filmic and artistic benefits of targeting 30fps? 00:47:59 Supporter Q2: What’s up with HDMI 2.1 capture cards? Why don’t capture devices support 4K/120Hz recordings? 00:53:34 Supporter Q3: Does “code” in the games industry refer to source code or game store codes? 00:55:42 Supporter Q4: Since the Steam Deck is well established, can you cover it from time to time? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rumours of a new PlayStation portable streaming device dominated the news this week, supplanting the actual reveal of the ultra-powerful Asus ROG Ally, first revealed on - believe it or not - April Fools Day. Meanwhile, John is seriously unhappy about Microsoft blocking emulation on Xbox Series consoles, while the applications of AI tools and the concept of affordable GPUs prompts further debate. And finally... Tekken 8 is on UE5 but is it actually using Nanite and Lumen? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:41 News 01: Sony to launch streaming-only handheld? 00:16:09 News 02: Asus announces ROG Ally gaming handheld! 00:28:13 News 03: Microsoft blocks emulators on Xbox consoles 00:46:48 Supporter Q1: Can generative AI be integrated into games, like having RPG characters that never run out of dialogue? 00:53:26 Supporter Q2: Will upgrading from 16GB to 32GB of system RAM help with 8GB VRAM GPU bottlenecks? 00:59:22 Supporter Q3: Have any Unreal Engine 5-specific visual features been spotted in the Tekken 8 trailers? 01:02:57 Supporter Q4: When will affordable graphics cards consistently deliver 60 fps with ray tracing? 01:06:08 Supporter Q5: How do you feel about some of the relatively lackluster RT upgrades we’ve seen recently? Should developers even bother? 01:09:51 Supporter Q6: This Direct has one of the best banners of all time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're not angry, we're just disappointed. And a touch baffled. Stupefied even. And actually, yeah, maybe a bit angry too. Just how did The Last of Us Part 1 launch on PC in the state it did? John, Rich and Alex discuss their impressions on the game, what went wrong with the port - and whether Sony should have launched it in this state at all. Meanwhile, it's a sad, sad day as E3 2023 is cancelled and the entire future of the Electronic Entertainment Expo looks bleak. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:59 News 01: TLOU Part 1 suffers performance problems on PC 00:39:37 News 02: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay showcase drops! 00:48:32 News 03: E3 2023 cancelled 01:00:16 News 04: Irem M92 emulation core created for MiSTER 01:06:12 Supporter Q1: Why is software Lumen cheaper than hardware Lumen, and could hardware Lumen be cheaper at the same precision? 01:08:31 Supporter Q2: Should Sony and Microsoft implement a 30fps cap option like the Steam Deck? Would there be technical hurdles? 01:12:28 Supporter Q3: How does DF prepare for various projects? Do you make explicit plans, or is it more free-form? 01:18:40 Supporter Q4: Could fully path-traced games bring back multi-GPU for gaming? 01:22:04 Supporter Q5: Thanks for the informative work! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's GDC week, with Alex, Rich and John discussing the big news from the latest events, including some exciting new Unreal Engine 5 developments, plus Nvidia's latest innovations in real-time path-traced gaming. Meanwhile, the team isn't that impressed by Elden Ring's RT upgrade, while EA's decision to delete a bunch of excellent Battlefield games doesn't go down particularly well either. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:58 News 01: Epic makes UE5 announcements at GDC! 00:35:20 News 02: Elden Ring RT patch drops… and disappoints 00:40:27 News 03: EA to delist several Battlefield games 00:46:38 News 04: Arkane looking into removing Redfall always-online requirement 00:49:14 News 05: Nightdive Studios bought by Atari 00:52:48 News 06: Outer Worlds performance update! 01:04:23 Supporter Q1: Is it reasonable for developers to deliver less ambitious PC versions, given the smaller market share the PC occupies? 01:10:53 Supporter Q2: Could a Switch 2 use Samsung’s 5nm process? Is an Ampere forward port or Lovelace back port a possibility? 01:13:10 Supporter Q3: Will increased server GPU demand due to AI keep consumer GPU prices high? 01:14:56 Supporter Q4: Could the rumoured PS5 Pro include new dedicated machine learning hardware, or is it too soon? 01:19:30 Supporter Q5: Do you have any recommendations for good lesser-known PS VR2 games? 01:25:13 Supporter Q6: As you celebrate DF Direct’s 2-year anniversary, what have you learned about yourselves through the process? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John, Alex and Will take to the mics this week to discuss the possibilities of some exciting iterations on gaming favourites. Do the recent reports of a PS5 Pro make sense? What about an OLED Steam Deck? And if Counter-Strike is so great, why isn't there a Counter-Strike 2? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:24 News 01: Resident Evil 4 impressions! 00:13:53 News 02: PS5 Pro - is it coming? 00:25:01 News 03: Valve says Steam Deck OLED refresh unlikely 00:32:02 News 04: New Counter-Strike imminent? 00:44:30 News 05: Hands-on with Viture XR AR glasses! 00:47:53 Supporter Q1: Could Xbox Series consoles get small internal improvements, even without an enhanced model? 00:51:20 Supporter Q2: Is the Xbox Series DirectML support just PR? Or is it actually going to be transformative for games? 00:55:21 Supporter Q3: How do you purchase and research older equipment, like CRTs? 00:59:23 Supporter Q4: Could current-gen enhanced consoles run UE5 games at 60fps with hardware RT? 01:03:31 Supporter Q5: Weird Al is “All About the Pentiums”, so what arguments would you say to get him to switch to Zen 4? 01:05:17 Supporter Q6: Alex, what do you think the Next Big Thing is for PC graphics? 01:06:49 Supporter Q7: What do you think about forced DLSS 3 in games, like the PC version of Sackboy: A Big Adventure? 01:09:48 Supporter Q8: Do you still use simple pixel edge counting for determining the resolution of games? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big week of news to discuss, with Oliver, Rich and Alex talking about Starfield's latest announcement and 'delay', plus the story that Suicide Squad will be pushed back in order to address the negative reaction to its State of Play gameplay reveal. Meanwhile, the COD war between Microsoft and Sony continues - and Halo Infinite on PC receives RT support. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:52 News 01: Starfield gets a release date, Suicide Squad delayed 00:11:18 News 02: The Last of Us Part 1 PC features detailed! 00:22:46 News 03: Sony-Microsoft feud escalates with dueling Call of Duty claims 00:36:50 News 04: Halo Infinite PC gets ray tracing! 00:44:14 Supporter Q1: Are in-house game engines becoming no longer feasible? 00:52:10 Supporter Q2: Would DF be interested in producing PC build videos? 00:57:41 Supporter Q3: With Moore’s Law slowing down, will PCs or consoles need to switch to ARM for performance gains? 01:03:33 Supporter Q4: Would Alex consider making a new “do you really need ultra settings” video, given the advent of new PC technologies like DLSS? 01:05:49 Supporter Q5: Where has Alex’s Crysis Shrine gone? Has it been destroyed by Alex’s rage over #StutterStruggle? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baldur's Gate 3 isn't exclusive to any particular console, but right now, the Xbox versions are facing a unique problem that could impact the future of Series S. Meanwhile, John, Rich and Tom discuss the latest FF16 footage, the fate of Luminous Productions, Nvidia's new video AI upscaler and the impressive Humanity demo on PS5. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:45 News 01: Baldur’s Gate 3 hits Series S snag 00:16:27 News 02: Nvidia AI video upscaling tested! 00:24:06 News 03: Humanity demo impresses 00:30:12 News 04: Final Fantasy 16 gameplay footage showcased! 00:41:10 News 05: Luminous Productions merged into Square Enix 00:46:56 Supporter Q1: Do the new Pokémon and Chrono Cross patches fix those games? 00:50:39 Supporter Q2: Is there a database of Alex’s optimised settings for PC? 00:51:46 Supporter Q3: With more games launching in troubled form, do you think consumers will start holding off day one purchases? 00:58:00 Supporter Q4: Is this the best time to remake demanding 7th gen titles, now that console hardware has caught up to their ambitions? 01:03:25 Supporter Q5: Will this console generation last longer than 7 years? 01:08:43 Supporter Q6: If you could banish one gaming-related object or concept, what would it be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a massive 100th Special Edition, DF Direct Weekly delivers the biggest show to date, with all current serving members of Digital Foundry at the mics. John, Alex, Rich and Audi take point on the main news stories of the week, joined by Tom, Will and Oliver for a gigantic supporter Q+A 'AMA' special. Thanks for watching and listening to the show over the last couple of years! 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:00 News 01: State of Play impressions! 00:32:15 News 02: Microsoft makes Nintendo, Nvidia game deals 00:41:07 News 03: Half-Life gets ray tracing upgrade 00:45:15 Supporter Q1: If Audi is being held in Rich’s basement, wouldn’t he still be living overseas? 00:47:02 Supporter Q2: Could we see a performance difference between different Switch models in Tears of the Kingdom? 00:48:48 Supporter Q3: Series X has been performing worse than PS5 in some major recent titles - what’s the explanation? 00:54:51 Supporter Q4: Would you rather wait to do coverage on a game until major technical faults have been addressed, or run the risk of needing to redo big parts of the coverage as updates come in? 01:04:33 Supporter Q5: Alex, if you could pick a studio to develop a new Turok, who would you choose? 01:07:32 Supporter Q6: Tom, what do you think of the Suspira remake? And what dream film director plus game combination would you put together if you could? 01:10:23 Supporter Q7: John, what cars would you own if money was no object? And what’s your favourite factory car colour? 01:12:39 Supporter Q8: Will, what type of coffee roast do you prefer? Which country has the best coffee? 01:14:25 Supporter Q9: Oliver, what is your favourite part of the content creation process? 01:15:37 Supporter Q10: Rich, would you like to expand DF significantly or keep it as a smaller group? 01:17:37 Supporter Q11: What do you enjoy the most about each other’s videos? 01:25:11 Supporter Q12: John, how’s the racing wheel going? And does anyone else on the team enjoy some large sim gear? 01:30:05 Supporter Q13: Is Alex the only person who still uses the correct vertical orientation on controllers? 01:31:26 Supporter Q14: What are your favourite DF game benchmarks? 01:39:01 Supporter Q15: Tom, has anyone pointed out that you look like the lead singer from the band Nothing More? 01:39:52 Supporter Q16: Tom, can you give us a thorough walkthrough of your haircare routine? 01:42:27 Supporter Q17: Which hardware release have you been most excited for? 01:49:30 Supporter Q18: Have recent struggles with PC games made any of you play more on consoles? 01:56:13 Supporter Q19: I’ve watched nearly 6 days of DF Direct! Are there any fun DF stats you can share? 02:00:44 Supporter Q20: John, how did you meet the guys from My Life in Gaming? 02:02:48 Supporter Q21: Oliver, what did you think of the time the BBC quoted you on Mario Kart 8? 02:03:56 Supporter Q22: Alex, are you a German native? If not, how did your German language skills get so good? 02:06:22 Supporter Q23: What have you learned about DF supporters that has surprised you? 02:09:13 Supporter Q24: Rich, what do you look for when hiring for DF? 02:11:05 Supporter Q25: No question, but thanks for making amazing videos! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We join John, Rich and Alex in the immediate wake of the PSVR2 review period, further discussing the hardware, talking games and answering supporter questions. Rich and Alex investigate a tip-off that DLSS is accessible on select Nvidia non-RTX GPUs in Cyberpunk 2077, while John and Rich discuss issues with games they looked at outside of work hours - Wild Hearts on PC and the new Tales of Symphonia remaster. Spoilers: there's disappointment. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:11 News 01: PSVR2 Post Mortem 00:28:38 News 02: Cyberpunk exposes DLSS support on Nvidia Turing GTX cards - but is it the real deal? 00:36:01 News 03: Wild Hearts suffers PC performance woes 00:46:32 News 04: Tales of Symphonia remastered disappoints 00:51:10 News 05: Nuon DVD player console gets new lease on life with controller adapters 00:55:52 DF Supporter Q1: Can DF still capture direct-feed footage off an undocked Switch? 00:59:51 DF Supporter Q2: Why do PC games do a poor job of optimizing settings for your specific hardware? 01:06:53 DF Supporter Q3: Could frame generation technology be used to offload game animation onto the GPU? 01:08:36 DF Supporter Q4: Could DLSS 3 double the frame-rates of emulated retro games? 01:10:54 DF Supporter Q5: Would FSR 1 style upscaling work for backwards compatible titles on consoles? 01:12:51 DF Supporter Q6: The RTX 2000 series had a bit of a slow start with few RT titles, so should the RTX 3000 series have been the first to support RT instead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big week for news as the first phase of Sony's PlayStation VR2 embargo decloaks, meaning we can take the hardware out of its box and offer first impressions on the headset and controllers! Meanwhile. the latest Nintendo Direct turns out to be a bit of a banger - Pikmin 4 takes centrestage, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gets a new trailer and the brilliant Metroid Prime Remastered gets a surprise 'shadow drop'. Also: why are PC VRAM requirements becoming so bloated? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:07 News 01: PS VR2 hands-on impressions! 00:14:25 News 02: Nintendo Direct reactions: Pikmin, Zelda, Metroid Prime 00:41:46 News 03: Hogwarts Legacy coverage plans 00:45:57 DF Supporter Q1: Avatar 2 mixes 24fps and 48fps footage - is this a good idea? 00:50:37 DF Supporter Q2: What can we expect in terms of timing for a Switch successor? 00:55:08 DF Supporter Q3/4: CPU performance is bottlenecking modern games - can developers work around this? Plus, ninth-gen games haven’t shown the expected bump in simulation complexity, so are the additional CPU resources just going towards draw calls and RT? 01:02:58 DF Supporter Q5: Will PC VRAM requirements continue to steeply increase throughout this generation, or is this a short-term phenomenon? 01:09:25 DF Supporter Q6: Why don’t console games support 50Hz output, given that nearly all TVs support it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for another round of Digital Foundry Direct Weekly, on this occasion featuring the technical stylings of Sam Machkovech, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia. On the docket this week: layoffs at Halo developer 343 Industries amid a rumoured switch to Unreal Engine 5, a new PS5 beta firmware and is it 'safe' to move to Windows 11 on a gaming rig? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:53 News 01: Halo developer suffers layoffs, switching to UE5 00:17:37 News 02: Major live service games canceled 00:27:11 News 03: DLSS 3 added to Cyberpunk 2077, Dying Light 2 00:36:21 News 04: The Witcher 3 gets RT performance boosts 00:43:11 News 05: Goldeneye launches on Xbox, Switch 00:53:56 News 06: PS5 beta firmware adds 1440p VRR support 01:05:04 DF Supporter Q1: Sam, you called the RTX 4090 a bargain. What other bargains do you recommend? 01:09:04 DF Supporter Q2: Have you tested copying the shader cache from one PC to another to eliminate shader stutter? 01:10:08 DF Supporter Q3: Could Square Enix be in financial trouble after Forspoken’s poor reception? 01:13:51 DF Supporter Q4: With PS VR2 pre-orders reportedly lower than expected, could the VR2 go the way of the Vita? 01:18:58 DF Supporter Q5: Do you think that it is safe to move to Windows 11 on a gaming rig? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Digital Foundry, we've been complaining about gaming events - and the way games are shown - for years... but you know what? Microsoft's Developer_Direct cracks it, with only one more aspect required to make the format almost perfect. But what's not perfect? The release of Forspoken, especially on PC. John, Rich and Alex are at the mics to discuss all of this - and more. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:44 News 01: Microsoft "Developer_Direct" reactions! 00:41:50 News 02: Forspoken released- and there are issues 00:58:12 News 03: Dead Space: our early impressions 01:06:03 DF Supporter Q1: Will you be covering the RTX 4050 at launch? What are your pricing expectations? 01:08:55 DF Supporter Q2: Could generative AI power an “auto-remaster” feature to upgrade game graphics in real time? 01:14:08 DF Supporter Q3: What kind of performance leap should we expect from a Switch sequel? 01:20:10 DF Supporter Q4: When will DirectStorage support become the norm for PC developers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A packed week of news as John, Rich and Alex discuss the elevated min specs for the PC versions of Forspoken and Returnal, which beg the question: ARE MIN SPECS OUT OF CONTROL?!11 Meanwhile, Stadia finally dies, while GeForce Now 4080 arrives to demonstrate that high-end cloud gaming can actually work. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:58 News 01: Forspoken and Returnal PC requirements detailed 00:21:55 News 02: Layoffs at Microsoft: 343 and Bethesda affected 00:29:20 News 03: PSVR2 launch titles announced 00:38:16 News 04: Stadia dead, RTX 4080 Geforce Now launches 00:49:11 News 05: Suicide Squad leak reveals games as a service components 00:56:24 News 06: The Callisto Protocol falls short of sales expectations 01:01:08 DF Supporter Q1: Why did Unreal Engine 3 games have that ‘wet’ look? 01:05:57 DF Supporter Q2: What are your CPU recommendations for demanding games? 01:09:05 DF Supporter Q3: How do your computers and consoles affect your home heating and cooling? 01:12:23 DF Supporter Q4: If you have a 120Hz screen running 60fps content, what is the best way to get a good experience? 01:15:29 DF Supporter Q5: What is the most memorable show you’ve attended? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big topic of the moment - has Nintendo Switch hit its limits? Is performance not good enough anymore and do we need a next-gen successor? John, Rich and Alex share their thoughts on the current Switch and a prospective replacement model. The team also discuss Microsoft's new Developer_Direct initiative, Xbox's 'carbon aware' credentials and finally... what on earth is happening at Ubisoft? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:37 News 01: Does the Switch need to be replaced? 00:30:33 News 02: Xbox “Developer_Direct” to showcase first-party games 00:39:30 News 03: Xbox becomes “first carbon aware console” 00:49:43 News 04: Ubisoft has financial difficulties, cancels several upcoming games 00:57:01 DF Supporter Q1: Should Microsoft switch to rechargeable batteries for their controllers? 01:03:31 DF Supporter Q2/3/4: Any thoughts on the PS5 liquid metal console damage story? 01:09:42 DF Supporter Q5: Could shader compilation be handled with a separate app while the PC idles? 01:14:52 DF Supporter Q6: In 10 years, will high-end PCs be able to brute force their way past compilation stutters? 01:18:19 DF Supporter Q7: What do you think about gaming laptops? Is their negative perception just because of price for performance, or is there more to it? 01:23:03 DF Supporter Q8: What does DF think of producing the weekly DF Direct show at 4K? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices