Digital Foundry Direct Weekly Digital Foundry

John, Alex and a freshly returned Rich deliver a 'come down' Direct that's a little more relaxed after the mania of the summer showcase events. The team bemoan the state of the Ubisoft Forward stream quality, ruining the visual quality of some great games, then move onto the discourse surrounding the Gears of War: E-Day cinematic. John's excited about the UE5 Riven remake, while Alex is even more excited about Sweeney's Prophecy - a brand new store leak promising a range of intriguing PC releases.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:58 News 01: Star Wars Outlaws demo analyzed!
0:28:11 News 02: Assassin’s Creed Shadows unveiled
0:46:24 News 03: Clarifying the Gears of War cinematic trailer
0:54:34 News 04: Epic Games Store leaks upcoming games
1:00:34 News 05: Riven demo released
1:08:28 Supporter Q1: Has any console generation been more boring than this one?
1:13:12 Supporter Q2: Was Microsoft showing Series X or PC footage at their games showcase?
1:19:49 Supporter Q3: Is delaying a physical release the best option for modern games?
1:26:35 Supporter Q4: Will you make an updated PC Gaming on a Budget video?
1:34:01 Supporter Q5: Do you have ambitions for growing your audience?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft's Xbox 2024 Showcase turned out to be an excellent presentation, with banger after banger. In this new DF Direct Special, John Linneman, Alex Battaglia and Oliver Mackenzie break down the show with their reactions to each of the key games before moving on to discuss the somewhat underwhelming hardware line-up - plus comments on Phil Spencer's latest remarks on the Xbox multi-platform strategy.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:17 Doom: The Dark Ages
0:11:05 Perfect Dark
0:20:42 Gears of War: E-Day
0:28:53 Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
0:40:39 Fable
0:49:43 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
0:59:18 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
1:07:17 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
1:15:54 Other games - Mixtape, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight, Atomfall, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, State of Decay 3, Age of Mythology: Retold
1:24:36 Updated Xbox Series consoles
1:31:35 Phil Spencer: more Xbox games are coming to other platforms
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The summer game showcase events are now in full swing and in this new episode of DF Direct Weekly, it's John, Oliver and Alex at mics, discussing the games of Summer Games 'Fest', along with other big new stories of the week. What's going on with the removal of the 8K label from the PS5 box? What do the team make of the PC adaptor for PSVR2 - and what's the score with Microsoft's AutoSR upscaling?

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:20 News 01: Summer Game Fest: Lego Horizon Adventures
0:13:44 Metaphor: Refantazio, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
0:25:17 Sonic X Shadow Generations, Alan Wake 2: Night Springs, Phantom Blade Zero
0:40:53 Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, Slitterhead, Killer Bean
0:50:14 Black Myth: Wukong, Civilization 7
1:03:59 News 02: Sony removes 8K support from PS5 box
1:22:49 News 03: PS VR2 PC adapter detailed
1:32:58 News 04: Microsoft unveils Auto SR upscaling tech
1:46:20 Supporter Q1: How can you optimize Windows text rendering for WOLED displays?
1:50:03 Supporter Q2: Why do people suggest limiting your frame-rate to just below the display refresh rate when using VRR on PC?
1:53:24 Supporter Q3: Would John recommend a PS VR2 or Meta Quest 3 for PC VR use?
1:55:33 Supporter Q4: Can you recall the first game that left you in awe of its graphics, making it hard to envision a better-looking game?
2:04:30 Supporter Q5: Are the consoles holding back RT use on PC?
2:10:25 Supporter Q6: What games do you wish you had first played on better hardware?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the DF team meeting up with IGN this week, this Direct comes to you straight from IGN's UK studio. Rich, John and Alex talk Sony State of Play, from the sublime Astro Bot to the distinctly unimpressive Concord. Meanwhile, the team discuss Sony's intention to sell PS5s from its PC ports and the big news that COD Black Ops 6 will be day one on Game(s) Pass rounds off the week's big stories.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:04 News 01: May 2024 State of Play: Astro Bot
0:11:00 Concord
0:19:51 Marvel Rivals, God of War Ragnarök PC, Dynasty Warriors: Origins
0:38:15 Silent Hill 2
0:51:35 Skydance’s Behemoth, Alien: Rogue Incursion
1:00:18 Monster Hunter Wilds, Path of Exile 2
1:10:22 Infinity Nikki, Ballad of Antara, Where Winds Meet, Until Dawn
1:19:23 News 02: Are PlayStation PC ports meant to sell PS5s?
1:36:03 News 03: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will debut on Game Pass
1:47:30 Supporter Q1: What games will Sony advertise alongside the PS5 Pro?
1:55:26 Supporter Q2: Will Nvidia launch another hardware-reliant software feature with 5000 series GPUs?
2:02:35 Supporter Q3: If Hellblade 2 had arrived last year, where would it have ranked on your Graphics of the Year video?
2:07:00 Supporter Q4: What are the best settings for using the Quest 3 wirelessly with a PC?
2:12:20 Supporter Q5: What’s the best way to deal with VRR flicker on OLEDs?
2:15:32 Supporter Q6: How does DLSS affect CPU usage?
2:21:40 Supporter Q7: Could a PS4 handheld enhance the look of older games?
2:24:44 Supporter Q8: What are you ordering for dinner in London?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FSR3 frame generation comes to consoles and Rich and John have tested it! That's the lead story in a new Direct that covers the controversy surrounding Hellblade 2, the upcoming launch of Snapdragon X Elite laptops and much, much more. Tom Morgan also joins the panel this week to discuss the arrival of TopSpin 2K25, the latest in the Paper Mario Switch story and his astonishing attempts to get Ark: Survival Ascended to run at 60fps on PlayStation 5.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:15 News 01: Immortals of Aveum FSR3 frame-gen tested!
0:18:16 News 02: Hellblade 2 review reaction
0:45:34 News 03: IGN buys Gamer Network... but what about DF?
0:57:44 News 04: TopSpin 2K25 impressions
1:08:14 News 05: Snapdragon X Elite processors launch
1:21:37 News 06: New Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door details
1:30:23 News 07: Ark: Survival Ascended features console menu on consoles
1:41:12 Supporter Q1: Should ‘artistic’ effects always be optional in games?
1:47:21 Supporter Q2: Should a frame-rate cap option be added to Ghost of Tsushima?
1:52:55 Supporter Q3: Future compatibility enhancements are very helpful - so should they be a standard feature in console games?
2:01:32 Supporter Q4: Is VRR becoming a crutch for console games?
2:09:00 Supporter Q5: Are full UE5 titles finally becoming common?
2:12:35 Supporter Q6: Which game should get an RTX Remix treatment?
2:17:15 Supporter Q7: By 2030, will 8K gaming be ‘a thing’?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another massive episode kicks off with the team sharing initial hands-on impressions of Ghost of Tsushima's impressive PC ports, while big changes are PlayStation are discussed - along with the revelation that half of Sony's monthly active users are still on PS4. Grand Theft Auto 6 is pushed back to later in 2025, and there's the enticing possibility that the original Red Dead Redemption will FINALLY come to PC. Finally, John and Oliver have bought new TVs - and it's looking like a full-on OLED vs LCD shoot-out.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:56 News 01: Ghost of Tsushima PC impressions!
0:16:05 News 02: Assassin’s Creed Shadows announced
0:25:33 News 03: PlayStation news roundup!
0:49:10 News 04: GTA 6 to arrive in fall 2025
0:55:22 News 05: Red Dead Redemption possibly coming to PC
1:02:30 News 06: PO’ed remaster released
1:12:13 News 07: John and Oliver’s new TVs!
1:28:42 Supporter Q1: Will the changes to Xbox strategy reduce console competition?
1:36:49 Supporter Q2: Does an Xbox-PC hybrid really make sense?
1:43:49 Supporter Q3: Could Nvidia’s rumoured ARM handheld SoC wipe the floor with Nintendo and Valve?
1:48:50 Supporter Q4: Are there gaming applications for OpenAI’s recently revealed AI tech?
1:52:40 Supporter Q5: What are your most highly anticipated games for the rest of the year in terms of tech?
1:56:21 Supporter Q6: How do you prefer to set up your PC displays when gaming?
1:58:54 Supporter Q7: What are your thoughts on producing repeated videos on games that are delivered in a subpar state?
2:04:25 Supporter Q8: What’s the latest gaming and tech news you’ve enjoyed?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices