Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

4d ago

It's that time of the year! The Digital Foundry team discuss the big reveals and the games that caught their eye at The Game Awards, with the traditional complaints about the volume of CG trailers. Beyond that, Rich shares his impressions on the first PS3 emulator for PlayStation 5, Alex gets to grips with the wobbly performance of FSR Redstone frame generation and Oliver shares some eyebrow-raising results from Skyrim on Switch 2. And as usual, questions are answered. Questions like: "Is Star Wars Outlaws more ‘bespoke’ on Switch 2 than Assassin’s Creed Shadows?" 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:12 News 1: The Game Awards: Control Resonant 0:08:42 Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis 0:16:56 Total War: Warhammer 40,000 0:23:59 Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, Exodus, Divinity 0:34:23 Ontos, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, No Law, Pragmata, AUDIOMECH, TankRat 0:49:34 News 2: Devs ship PS3 emulator in PS5 game 0:59:09 News 3 Skyrim disappoints on Switch 2 1:07:21 News 4: AMD FSR Redstone launches 1:26:38 Supporter Q1: Will The Witchers 4, 5, and 6 be constrained by cross-gen limits? 1:35:14 Supporter Q2: Will Unified Memory Architecture appear on PCs? 1:39:21 Supporter Q3: Could Microsoft port their backwards compatibility solution to PS5? 1:44:31 Supporter Q4: Is there a way to install a streamlined Windows 11 cleansed of Microsoft services? 1:56:38 Supporter Q5: Is Star Wars Outlaws more ‘bespoke’ on Switch 2 than Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 8

Nintendo didn't release Metroid Prime 4 Switch 1 review code to journalists, so how does it stack up against Switch 2? Rich does some digging. Meanwhile, the team lament the end of the iconic Crucial RAM, but there's better news about the return of some kind of 32-bit PhysX support for RTX 50-series GPUs. Oliver talks Sonic Racing Crossworlds on Switch 2, John's impressed by TimeSplitters Rewind - and just how bad have things got for HDR support in video games? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:55 News 1: Metroid Prime 4 tested on Switch 1! 0:29:22 News 2: Micron kills Crucial RAM 0:39:29 News 3: Nvidia partially brings back 32 bit PhysX for 50 series 0:45:34 News 4: Sonic Racing Crossworlds tested on Switch 2 0:51:00 News 5: CD Projekt plans fast release pace for Witchers 4-6 0:59:21 News 6: Veteran HDR dev bemoans state of HDR in games 1:14:23 News 7: TimeSplitters Rewind impresses 1:22:17 Supporter Q1: Will price hikes cause a gaming Dark Age? How are next gen consoles affected? 1:32:44 Supporter Q2: How could Cyberpunk 2077 be improved visually? 1:35:59 Supporter Q3: What games are “Too Big for Steam Machine?” 1:39:46 Supporter Q4: Should Nintendo have tried to match Series S with Switch 2? 1:44:33 Supporter Q5: Do you have any fond PSP gaming memories? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 2

In this week's Direct, Rich gets to grips with Ghost of Yōtei's unlocked frame-rate and balanced mode upgrades, discovering some excellent results. The team discuss the seemingly soon arrival of a PC port for Death Stranding 2, while mulling over Ubisoft's details on its upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows Switch 2 port. John's highly excited by eXoWin9X and there's a celebratory round of applause for Panic Button - entrusted by Nintendo to upgrade some its most important games for Switch 2. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:32 News 1: Ghost of Yōtei gets unlocked VRR modes 0:19:58 News 2: Death Stranding 2 PC incoming? 0:27:06 News 3: eXoWin9x gets vintage PC games running on modern Windows 0:36:48 News 4: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Switch 2 version detailed 0:49:24 News 5: Panic Button handled key Switch 2 updates 0:55:25 Supporter Q1: Is Kirby Air Riders the game Mario Kart World should have been? 1:01:26 Supporter Q2: What’s the most unexpected feature announced for a product? 1:10:25 Supporter Q3: Will Steam Machine cement a performance target for game developers? 1:14:29 Supporter Q4: Will surging RAM prices doom the Steam Machine? What about PS6? 1:21:21 Supporter Q5: Does Nvidia need to concentrate more on Linux driver development? 1:26:39 Supporter Q6: Can Alex share a recent PC gaming experience that made him happy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 24

A meaty new episode of DF Direct Weekly kicks off with a Valve double-header - reaction to news that Steam Machine may be heading for PC pricing, plus news of Linux FSR 4 support via Proton... including old GPUs. Meanwhile, Angry Alex is back and he's measured just how bad Windows performance in AC Shadows is impacted by a rogue update. Red Dead Redemption 1 returns once again, Oliver has opinions on Horizon Steel Frontiers and let's just say that we really think you should check out Sektori. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:07 News 1: Steam Machine price: above $500? 0:18:36 News 2: FSR 4 gets Proton support 0:33:00 News 3: Windows update kills gaming performance 0:50:10 News 4: Price hikes incoming: should you buy a GPU right now? 1:05:21 News 5: Red Dead Redemption gets new round of ports 1:11:06 News 6: Horizon Steel Frontiers announced 1:17:52 News 7: Twin-stick shooter Sektori impresses 1:23:00 Supporter Q1: On the system’s 20th anniversary, what are your favourite Xbox 360 games? 1:32:20 Supporter Q2: Why is everyone so excited for Steam Machine? 1:38:19 Supporter Q3: Is there a new sub-PS5 hardware tier developing? 1:43:44 Supporter Q4: Will developers add new Steam Machine graphical presets? 1:50:47 Supporter Q5: Is Switch 2 DLSS superior to FSR 3? 1:55:49 Supporter Q6: Should Sony fret over Steam Machine competition? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 17

Valve's reveal of the Steam Machine has proven phenomenally popular to the point where our coverage is by far and away the biggest DF video of the year. But there's more information emerging post-embargo we had to share, plus plenty of discussion points to wade through. How much will it cost? Does this really cause problems for Microsoft? What is the actual make-up of the Zen 4 CPU? And is a spec that's comparable with PlayStation 5 really the best that could be done over five years into this generation? Rich, Oliver and Alex convene once again to talk about the Valve initiative. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:41 Steam Machine pricing 0:13:42 Potential impacts to Microsoft 0:25:18 CPU: likely Hawk Point 2 0:30:54 Hardware concerns and deficits 0:45:11 Should Valve have used Strix Halo? 0:51:41 8GB of VRAM and SteamOS efficiencies 1:03:04 Steam Frame and Valve’s push into ARM 1:14:25 Supporter Q1: Will Steam Machine have pre-loading of shader cache? 1:19:17 Supporter Q2: How can Valve solve the anti-cheat problem? 1:22:25 Supporter Q3: Will Valve drop Half-Life 3 for the launch of Steam Machine? 1:28:21 Supporter Q4: What is a proper punishment for Alex after his denigration of PS3? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 13

While the new Steam Machine PC/console hybrid has taken centrestage, it's not the only major hardware launch revealed by Valve today. Steam Frame is a state-of-the-art VR headset that not only streams games from your PC but can actually run them on the headset itself, with an x86 to ARM translation layer working in addition to Proton. Oliver's been hands-on and shares his impressions with John in this DF Direct Special. 00:00 Overview 04:17 Internal specifications 06:55 Displays and optics 15:19 Foveated rendering and foveated streaming 18:06 Modularity, controls, and audio 24:52 Standalone gaming functionality 32:30 Game streaming 37:25 Analysis and conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 12

It's the hardware we've been waiting for. Built on SteamOS, Valve's brand-new Steam Machine runs the same games that Steam Deck does, with 6x the graphics horsepower - all built into a super-cute, premium, cube-like design. Oliver visited Valve HQ to go hands-on with both the new PC/console hybrid and the new Steam Controller, reporting back with impressions, specs and insights from the engineers behind the project. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:11 Steam Machine overview 0:04:38 Specs and architecture 0:22:38 Other specs and capabilities 0:30:24 Steam Controller 0:36:26 Analysis and conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 10

Aside from the monumental release of our brand new website, it was looking like a quiet week until the gigaton news that Grand Theft Auto 6 was delayed again quote-unquote dropped. The team discuss the implications in this week's Direct, before moving onto PS Portal cloud streaming impressions and the AMD marketing debacle that is the RDNA 1/2 driver situation. Silent Hill 2 is all but certain to arrive on Xbox, but what about Switch 2? Plus: kudos to Nintendo as it looks almost certain now that Switch 2 is the biggest console launch of all-time... within a three-month launch window at least! 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:53 Our new website - digitalfoundry.net! 0:09:13 News 1: GTA 6 launch delayed to November 2026 0:21:20 News 2: PS Portal now officially supports PS5 Cloud Streaming 0:39:17 News 3: AMD’s RDNA 1 and 2 driver debacle 0:55:30 News 4: Switch 2 is the fastest selling console of all time (so far) 1:04:09 News 5: Silent Hill 2 reportedly headed to Xbox 1:10:41 Supporter Q1: What do you consider “retro”? 1:18:23 Supporter Q2: What is the most exciting console gen technologically? 1:23:09 Supporter Q3: Should Microsoft worry about Valve’s future devices? 1:33:46 Supporter Q4: Will Rockstar reconsider a simultaneous GTA 6 PC launch? 1:41:21 Supporter Q5: Will the upcoming PS handheld play PS6 games natively, or only via streaming? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices