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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #238

Hi everyone, welcome to the latest Call For Questions post, this time for the 238th episode (not including specials) of DF Direct Weekly. It'll be Rich (ie me), John and Oliver at the mics this week, with a special guest appearance from a certain Thomas Morgan.

What's on the docket? Quite a bit actually, so we'll be pruning down the topics somewhat but we will be looking at the latest patch for Metal Gear Solid Delta, which Tom says is a marked improvement over launch code - on PS5 Pro at least. Base PS5 testing still to go.

More, you say? Oliver is taking a quick look at Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, while John is quite excited a couple of things: Lumines Arise and Routine, which finally has a release date! Oh and yes, why not talk about the Assassin's Creed Shadows Switch 2 port?

Now though, it's time for you to step in with your valued input. What topics do you think we should discuss? Any comments on any of the above? And of course, any questions for John, Rich and Oliver? Knock yourself out (not literally, that would be unfortunate) in the empty comments box below.

Coming This Week to Digital Foundry (Week 44 2025)

Hello there and welcome to the latest weekly update from Digital Foundry. Sorry it's a bit late. Rich here and beyond the background admin stuff you'll see the fruits of in due course, I've spent the day adapting our automated benchmarks for handhelds on a separate Steam Library on an NVMe SSD within a USB-C dock - the idea here is to be able to take the pain in setting up the mods/patches just once and then swap the SSD between handhelds simply by plugging each into the dock and pointing Steam to the SSD library. Portable libraries on Steam. It can be done!

But it's all about the #content, right?

• Rich (ie me) is all about the handheld benchmarking. As Oliver has bought and Ally X, we will be joining forces for the review on that, so similar to the PS5 Pro review, we're looking to bring multiple viewpoints and experiences into that #content.

• John is working on an impromptu video on the RTX Remix work happening on the original Unreal, and he's eagerly awaiting delivery of the 20-year-old, untouched Xbox 360 I sent him. We were worried it was lost owing to lack of tracking information, but it seems like DPD is delivering it by horse, hence the delays there. It has cleared customs at least!

• Tom is circling back to Pokémon Legends: Z-A and after that moves onto embargoed content.

• Oliver is considering some #content on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, but the Ally X review and some embargoed content is likely to keep him busy. Persona 3 Reload Switch 2? Got code in from Sega yesterday, so curious what he makes of it.

• Alex is taking an early look/preview at the GTA 4 path-tracing mod for RTX Remix we discussed last week, with the developer's blessing.

Beyond that, we're gearing up for the launch of the new Digital Foundry website - and as I keep saying whenever I mention it, it's looking great. Oh and we're looking to roll out the DF Retro Super Show this week to Retro Tier Patreon Supporters! Similar to DF Direct Weekly, there will be an early access window before the show goes public. I've just downloaded the three hour (!) episode myself and will be checking it out in due course. The website? The Retro podcast? All possible owing to independence and of course, your support. Many, many thanks.

One more thing:

Other things going on - lots of behind the scenes things, basically. We're looking to get the commercial side of things in order and have sorted proper representation. Expect to see short integrations in some #content going forward - with the reassurance that the download versions of the videos will remain ad-free. It's all part of making the business side of things a little more balanced so we can expand and deliver more.

I've also spent some time taking another look at our general video workflow. We use the open source tool VirtualDub for capture, which brings in fps data on the fly - problem being that its reliance on the AVI video container is now causing us a lot of headaches with Adobe Premiere. We've been assessing OBS with a view to porting across the on-the-fly fps analysis we built from scratch for vdub. OBS has a huge amount of advantages but brings with it a number of issues - for example, it doesn't seem to tell you if any frames are dropped during capture, which is a bit of a deal breaker as is - meaning more mods needed.

Still, that's where we are generally - there's always a lot going on. Do share your thoughts on what we're doing or what you'd like us to be doing and - as always - have a great week.

DF Direct Weekly #237: Halo Campaign Evolved Reaction, "Premium" Next-Gen Xbox, New DF Retro Show!

A gigantic new episode of DF Direct Weekly sees the team's reaction to the big Halo Campaign Evolved reveal - and some unfortunate Unreal Engine 5 issues already coming into view. Meanwhile, what does Microsoft actually mean by its "very premium, very high-end" next-gen comments and is the Xbox Ally X interface really the best way forward? Meanwhile, John and some familiar faces reveal our next big project - the DF Retro Super Show - our brand new video podcast. Beyond that, Rich talks PlayStation power saver with Death Stranding 1 and 2, while alarming stats are revealed about the decline of games journalism.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:12 News 1: Halo Campaign Evolved revealed!

0:23:03 News 2: Sarah Bond: next Xbox "very premium, very high-end"

0:55:55 News 3: Announcing the DF Retro Super Show!

1:01:46 News 4: Nvidia drops Bonsai tech demo

1:13:05 News 5: Death Stranding 1 + 2 tested in Power Saver mode

1:27:11 News 6: Game journalists rapidly departing industry

1:42:37 Supporter Q1: Is Microsoft making a mistake by muddling the definition of an Xbox?

1:50:50 Supporter Q2: Is Microsoft’s new 30% gaming margin target driving its recent woes?

1:57:17 Supporter Q3: Does pursuing the state of the art make sense in a cost-constrained, multi-platform era?

2:01:25 Supporter Q4: Is Sony’s new portable PlayStation doomed to the same fate as the Vita?

2:05:58 Supporter Q5: How can AAA game studios survive in an era of increasing console prices?

2:12:09 Supporter Q6: Did you ever hear the tragedy of Alex Battaglia the Wise?

DF Direct Weekly #237 Is Now Available

A gigantic new episode of DF Direct Weekly sees the team's reaction to the big Halo Campaign Evolved reveal - and some unfortunate Unreal Engine 5 issues already coming into view. Meanwhile, what does Microsoft actually mean by its "very premium, very high-end" next-gen comments and is the Xbox Ally X interface really the best way forward? Meanwhile, John and some familiar faces reveal our next big project - the DF Retro Super Show - our brand new video podcast. Beyond that, Rich talks PlayStation power saver with Death Stranding 1 and 2, while alarming stats are revealed about the decline of games journalism.

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Ninja Gaiden 4 - DF Review - Xbox Series X|S, PS5/PS5 Pro, PC - Superb Action, Great Performance

Ninja Gaiden 4 sees Team Ninja co-develop with Platinum Games for a highly entertaining, super-smooth action game. Barring a visually deficient Xbox Series S port, this is an attractive, technically sound project that works on all systems - but is most recommended on PC and PS5 Pro.

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PS5 'Power Saver' Mode Tested: A Taster Of The PlayStation Handheld Experience?

A new power saver mode is added to select first party PS5 titles, with Demon's Souls, Day's Gone Remastered - and more - gaining compatibility this week. This eco-friendly mode is part of Sony's drive to reduce green house emissions first and foremost, and involves each developer custom-tuning each game to run at a lower power profile - often chopping power usage by 50% as a result. However, curiously, this mode's throttled CPU, GPU and memory bandwidth puts PS5 in a similar state - spec-wise - to some aspects of the rumoured upcoming PlayStation handheld. So is this our first sample of how games are being tweaked for a potential portable version in the future? Tom and Rich team up to sift through the evidence so far.

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The Outer Worlds 2 PC Review - Double Performance With Optimised Settings

The Outer Worlds 2 on PC isn't quite as solid technically as the Xbox versions of the game, proving to be particularly heavy on console-equivalent CPUs in particular. Alex looks at the usual stuff: menu quality, shader compilation/stutter issues, GPU performance and - of course - optimised settings. Suffice to say that using max settings on this one is a gigantic waste of your GPU's resources.

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The Outer Worlds 2 - DF Review - Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS5 Pro - Impressive on Xbox, PS5 Needs Work

The Outer Worlds 2 fully leans into the Unreal Engine 5 feature set, even if the stylised art style isn't typical of the engine. The results are impressive on Xbox with three different but very solid visual modes. However, the experience on PlayStation 5 consoles definitely needs improvement in a number of areas.

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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #237

Hello there - you know the score by now, surely? Every Thursday this post appears in your Patreon feed, outlining what we're going to be doing in the next episode of DF Direct Weekly, along with an appeal for your topic suggestions, comments and questions!

Topics on the docket? Well... Sarah Bond's comments about a "premium", "high-end" next generation Xbox come into focus. So, what's the play here? An admission that subsidised consoles don't work any more and we'll just need to pay more? Or is it actually a relatively inexpensive PC replacement that is also a console? Maybe it's both!

Bond's comments about Xbox Ally X hinting at the hybrid console/Windows approach for that next generation console is also a discussion point. I think it's fair to say that the team's viewpoints on this are straightforward: Windows 11 needs a huge amount of work before that would be an acceptable baseline OS for a console.

Other topics? Alex will be looking at the new Nvidia Bonsai demo and if there is time (no promises), Rich will take a look at Death Stranding 2's power saver implementation on PS5. We have a video with Demon's Souls and Days Gone Remastered analysed coming soon - but DS2 arrived a little too late.

Also, we're considering a "PS5 Pro - one year on" segment or even a standalone video. Have you bought one? What do you think of it? Please let us know. Other comments fine, but please highlight whether or not you actually own the hardware.

Finally, we've not been invited to any press events, haven't signed any NDAs or indeed know anything concrete about it, but there is a strong rumour that the Halo Remake will be announced this weekend. Again, we're unsure if this will be able to be included owing to timing, whether we add it to the public release, or whether we make a standalone video.

OK then - just time to round off this post with the customary panel and deadline info: this week, it's going to be Rich (ie me), John and Alex speaking into their microphones and the deadline for submissions is 8am BST on Friday.

Coming This Week to Digital Foundry (Week 43 2025)

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest update from Digital Foundry - first up, we didn't publish DF Direct Weekly #236 today as the benchmark comparisons for the Xbox Ally X were incorrect. Thanks to the Supporters who pointed out that the OG Ally benchmarks didn't quite stack up. Although the 3DMark score matched the official database, game performance was lower. I've nuked the install, reset from scratch and the numbers now look closer to the 20-30% gains seen elsewhere. We will reshoot that segment for a public release tomorrow. Frustrating but thanks for comments and reports that prevented bad data making its way to the broader audience.

Let's talk #content then.

• Tom is handling Pokémon Legends Z-A for us, but before that he's working with Rich (ie me) to get to the bottom of PS5's Power Saver mode. We've used it in Demon's Souls on PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro and there's intriguing stuff here - could this be a template for the upcoming handheld?

• Oliver is working on our console review for The Outer Worlds 2, due later this week. Beyond that? As a prospective ROG Xbox Ally X owner, he's VERY interested in seeing how well Bazzite runs on it. Persona 3 Reload on Switch? Oliver wants to check it out.

• John is away right now but is working on our coverage for Ninja Gaiden 4. After that, he'll be moving on to Xbox 360 launch anniversary retro coverage!

• Alex is obviously intrigued by that RTX Remix path tracing mod, but first things first, he'll be providing a PC performance review for The Outer Worlds 2.

• Rich (ie me) is still on the big handhelds review, focusing on Ally X, but obviously we'll try to cover the non-X and of course, GPD Win 5 remains in its box waiting to be tested.

Meanwhile, work continues rapidly behind the scenes on the new retro podcast and our fantastic looking website is now in beta - we'll be announcing a new hire soon. All of this is happening 100 percent because we are now fully independent and because of your support. Many, many thanks.

As usual, do let us know of any projects or content you'd like us to look into and feel free to comment on the above. Thanks - as ever - for your support.

DF Direct Weekly #236: Xbox Ally X Review-In-Progress, Next-Gen Spec Leak Comparisons, New PS5 Pro!

ROG Xbox Ally X is "in the house" and Rich describes his first couple of days in the review process. Alex answers the big question as to whether new PC games stutter more than older ones, while Oliver gets to grips with Black Myth Wukong's latest patch on PlayStation, complete with Lumen-free performance mode. Finally, next-gen Xbox and PlayStation spec leaks are gathering pace - so what do we make of them?

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:54 News 1: ROG Xbox Ally X first impressions and benchmarks!

0:31:28 News 2: Black Myth: Wukong patch brings Xbox updates to PS5

0:42:23 News 3: Did old PC games stutter less?

0:57:52 News 4: Latest Xbox Magnus rumours suggest large, expensive die

1:10:38 News 5: New PS5 Pro features subtle revisions

1:16:35 Supporter Q1: What does Alex think of Mark Cerny’s recent Project Amethyst announcements?

1:26:47 Supporter Q2: What does Microsoft’s collaboration with AMD look like?

1:33:59 Supporter Q3: Should Nintendo release a docked-only version of Switch 2?

1:36:43 Supporter Q4: Any thoughts on the recent Gamers Nexus animation error exposé?

DF Direct Weekly #236 Is Now Available

UPDATE #2: Final video downloads attached!

UPDATE #1: Thanks for the reports on lower than expected (R)OG Ally results - we have rebenched with a fully fresh install and the corrected Direct will go public tomorrow, along with new downloads here.

ROG Xbox Ally X is "in the house" and Rich describes his first couple of days in the review process. Alex answers the big question as to whether new PC games stutter more than older ones, while Oliver gets to grips with Black Myth Wukong's latest patch on PlayStation, complete with Lumen-free performance mode. Finally, next-gen Xbox and PlayStation spec leaks are gathering pace - so what do we make of them?

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Battlefield 6 PC - DF Review + Optimised Settings - +72% Perf Boost For Little Visual Loss

Lauded for its phenomenal performance, the truth is that Battlefield 6's ultra and overkill settings are exactly that - opening the door to some phenomenal performance boosts with barely noticeable visual differences via optimised settings. Alex takes you through his thoughts on the game, how to improve performance, how CPUs scale and much, much more.

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Control - PS5/Pro/Series X Update 1.30 - PSSR Upscaling and RT at 60FPS Tested on PS5 Pro!

A brand new patch 1.30 lands on all current-gen consoles, with PS5 Pro in particular reaping the spoils with a new PSSR toggle, and also increased 60fps performance while using its ray tracing 'graphics' mode. The advantages speak for themselves, as Tom covers here, but there are a few limitations to consider also.

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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #236

Hello there, and welcome to the latest Call For Questions post as we "prep" for the next edition of DF Direct. And here's what we're going to be doing. First of all, I've had to take some time recently to look after my elderly parents, so I'm running well behind on my ROG Xbox Ally X review (Microsoft didn't send the non-X). I'll have initial impressions, benchmarks vs (R)OG Ally and some gameplay tests to show what Z2 Extreme can do.

Oliver will be joining us to demonstrate what the gigantic Black Myth Wukong patch does for the PlayStation 5, while Alex will be tackling a pretty big topic based on audience feedback to his Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX retrospective: do older games stutter less than modern games? My early take on this from my own experiences is "probably yes, but older PC titles were hardly stutter-free" but let's see what Alex says, eh?

Other stuff? We'll take a look at the next-gen Xbox and PS6 rumours that have most recently circulated and see if we have anything to say about that, but beyond this - the stage is yours. What sort of topics would you like us to discuss and of course, crucially, what questions do you have for the team?

Just so we're clear, it'll be Rich (ie me), Oliver and Alex at the mics for tomorrow's taping and the deadline for your submissions is 8am BST Friday. Thanks in advance for your valuable inputs!

Battlefield 6 - The BIG Console Face-Off: PS5/PS5 Pro/Xbox Series X|S - Every Mode Tested!

We've already looked at the PlayStation 5 version of Battlefield 6 to give our overview of what this game is, how well it works and whether we recommend it. Now we go into the weeds with a detailed breakdown of every mode in every console version of the game.

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Leaked FSR4 INT8 Test: RDNA 3, RDNA 2, Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Nvidia + Xbox Series X Simulation

Update: This video has been updated - the strobe warning is more pronounced, an error in voiceover has been corrected and individual frame-time charts have been added to the Alan Wake 2 test.

Original Post: Hi everyone, as mentioned earlier - some All-Supporter early access action, as what was initially going to be a pretty simple test for FSR4 INT8 on the RX 6700 turned into something hugely more time-consuming and extensive.

The blurb: a new version of FSR4 was recently leaked by AMD (!), opening the door to high quality upscaling for any GPU that supports INT8 machine learning instructions. That means a range of products ranging from every RDNA 2 or RDNA 3 based GPU, including Steam Deck and ROG Ally handhelds. Rich takes a look at image quality and performance across a range of devices - including Nvidia (double !) and even ballpark simulations of how FSR4 could run on Xbox Series X.

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DF Retro: Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX - 20th Anniversary Retrospective - A Generational Leap [Sponsored]

Content sponsored by Nvidia. 2005: a pivotal year in gaming, with the arrival of a new generation of titles, enabled on PC with the arrival of Shader Model 3, supported by Nvidia's cutting-edge GeForce 7800 GTX. 20 years on, Alex powers up a period-appropriate PC equipped with the 7800 GTX, showcasing how the hardware delivered more performance and new features over its predecessors in a range of classic PC titles.

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Coming This Week to Digital Foundry (Week 42 2025)

Hi everyone, just completed sundry tasks and can now report on the contents of the #content meeting from this morning! All team members in attendance and plenty to discuss, so let's get straight into the thick of it.

• Rich (ie me) has finally completed the FSR 4 INT8 breakdown. Sorry for the delay, there's been a lot going on here and the video itself ballooned out of control, as you'll see. This content will possibly go public tomorrow, but I will be arranging early access for all Supporters as this week's Direct early access was a touch limited. Beyond that - it's full-on with handhelds as we prep for ROG Xbox Ally X and GPD Win 5, which means a lot of new benchmarking for the new devices.

• Tom will be completing his video on the Control patch, then moves onto the new Pokémon game. We don't have review code yet though, so we'll be kicking off work on this when the title launches later in the week. He's also got some COD BLOPs 7 beta capture that'll probably be in the next Direct.

• Oliver is still working on the big Battlefield 6 blow-out - there's a huge amount of work in this covering every console with their respective modes. Beyond that, he's keen on Persona 3 Reload for Switch 2 and at some point, The Outer Worlds 2.

• Alex has completed a sponsored video on the legacy of Nvidia's GeForce 7800 GTX, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It opened the door to a range of next-gen titles using Shader Model 3 features! Mohammed's BF6 optimised settings should be coming shortly and he'll also orchestrate a review with a summary of this thoughts plus those recommended settings and perhaps some PS5-equivalent ones too!

• John is on the final furlong of the seemingly mythical Tony Hawk Pro-Skater 3+4 retro video. He'll be moving on to Ninja Gaiden 4 and then onto our Xbox 360 retrospective coverage.

Per prior updates, we are looking to significantly beef up our Retro coverage. So, first of all, we are returning to our prior cadence of distributing major DFR episodes to Retro tier supporters way ahead of public release. Xbox 360? This will likely have a shorter early access period for obvious reasons: we want to celebrate the 20th anniversary on the day.

But there's more. John and his team will be recording the first DF Retro podcast this week, with a view to launching alongside another very important anniversary later in the month. The podcast aims to be bi-weekly, with an early access period for Retro tier supporters. There are also formative plans to make Retro Q+A episodes in addition to the bi-weekly podcast. If you recall from the Independence Announcement video, the retro podcast was one of the key things we wanted to do, so we're super-eager to make this happen.

Also exciting: the Digital Foundry website is in great shape and coming to the end of development - our content has never looked this good on the web. We will have some fantastic announcements on that soon, including news of a new team member.

The response to our announcement of independence has been amazing. You've helped to make all of this possible, so from myself and the team - thank you very much! For now though, feel free to post your comments and topic requests!

DF Direct Weekly #235: Microsoft Re-Confirms Next-Gen Xbox, Red Dead 2 Remaster Heavily Rumoured

In this week's DF Direct, Microsoft deny rumours that its next-gen console has been cancelled - but to what extent are its statements credible in the wake of the infamous "four games" messaging? The existence of ports of Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 are confirmed by the most reliable leaker in the business, while John shares his impressions of Yooka-Replaylee. And to what extent did Nintendo underclock the SoC for Switch 2?

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:58 News 1: Microsoft: future Xbox console hardware re-confirmed

0:17:10 News 2: Yooka-Replaylee lands on current gen systems

0:27:51 News 3: Red Dead Redemption 2 remaster heavily rumoured

0:35:18 News 4: Ominous omens surround next Halo

0:47:16 Supporter Q1: If the next-gen Xbox is cancelled, what will have been lost?

0:52:47 Supporter Q2: Will competing consoles continue to launch at a similar cadence in the future?

0:59:27 Supporter Q3: Will developers focus on more advanced physics or mechanics to differentiate their games during cross-gen?

1:06:38 Supporter Q4: How will PS5 Pro fare in cross-gen software?

1:10:09 Supporter Q5: Should we consider Microsoft’s commercially unsuccessful consoles to be failures?

1:22:18 Supporter Q6: Is the Switch 1 or Switch 2 underclocked more heavily?

DF Direct Weekly #235 Is Now Available

Note: Due to scheduling conflicts, there's a strong possibility that the public version of DF Direct Weekly #235 will quote-unquote drop on Sunday, not Monday. We'll be arranging another early access opportunity for all Supporters to compensate.

The blurb: in this week's DF Direct, Microsoft deny rumours that its next-gen console has been cancelled - but to what extent are its statements credible in the wake of the infamous "four games" messaging? The existence of ports of Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 are confirmed by the most reliable leaker in the business, while John shares his impressions of Yooka-Replaylee. And to what extent did Nintendo underclock the SoC for Switch 2?

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Sony/AMD Project Amethyst Update - Next-Gen Tech Revealed + Mark Cerny Q&A

Could this be the foundational GPU technology for the PlayStation 6? Mark Cerny's latest Project Amethyst update describes the building blocks of future graphics technology, with a strong focus on ray tracing and machine learning capabilities, along with bandwidth-enhancing features designed to reduce the need on massive memory controllers. John, Rich and Oliver discuss the tech and share more information from Mark Cerny via an email Q&A conducted in the wake of the video's publication.

00:00 Three innovations: Neural Arrays, Radiance Cores, and Universal Compression

09:41 PS6 games and cross-gen enhancements

15:55 PS6 hardware and release timing

24:14 Concluding thoughts

Sony/AMD Project Amethyst Update - Next-Gen Tech Revealed - DF Direct Special + Mark Cerny Q&A

Hi everyone, this was originally going to be the main news topic for the latest edition of DF Direct Weekly. On reflection, as it contains new information from Mark Cerny, the Direct would have almost certainly leaked, so we spun out this segment as a standalone video running now. We'll be getting Direct #235 to you as quickly as possible.

The blurb: could this be the foundational GPU technology for the PlayStation 6? Mark Cerny's latest Project Amethyst update describes the building blocks of future graphics technology, with a strong focus on ray tracing and machine learning capabilities, along with bandwidth-enhancing features designed to reduce the need on massive memory controllers. John, Rich and Oliver discuss the tech and share more information from Mark Cerny via an email Q&A conducted in the wake of the video's publication.

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Battlefield 6 - PlayStation 5 DF Review - Rock-Sold Performance, Excellent Multiplayer

Battlefield 6 is here - and this is our initial video on what is an excellent release. Focusing on the PlayStation 5 version for now, Oliver goes into the plus and minus points of the campaign before moving onto a multiplayer focus, including 120Hz VRR performance. And what's with all the content download options and menu selections? In our next video, we'll be looking at the full range of consoles and modes and how they compare.

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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #235

Yessssssss Supporters - it's Thursday, and I've just caught my breath after putting Oliver's excellent Battlefield 5 video live, so let's get straight down to it. We'll be "taping" DF Direct Weekly #235 tomorrow and while topics for discussion are still brewing, we'll be talking about Microsoft's need to shoot down the rumours behind it completely pulling out of next-gen console hardware. I stress "console" hardware as I've got a feeling that the SoCs Microsoft creates will be seen across a range of PC hardware.

Other topics? We'll be talking about the new Project Amethyst ML disclosures from Mark Cerny and AMD's Jack Huynh, along with the drip-feed of hints about the arrival date for the PlayStation 6 console that continue into this video.

We're still considering other discussion points for inclusion - such as a new round of rumours on current-gen Red Dead Redemption 2 ports, including Switch 2, now corroborated by especially accurate leaker, Nate The Hate. John's looking to share his joy about a standalone VR emulated version of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Anything else you'd like to see us discuss? And beyond that, any questions to ask of the team. It'll be Rich (ie me), Oliver and John on the panel and the deadline for your inputs is 8am BST on Friday. Thanks!

Coming This Week to Digital Foundry (Week 41 2025)

Hello and welcome to the latest weekly update from Digital Foundry, posted hot on the heels of our weekly #content update. Plenty to be discussing, so let's get straight to it, eh?

• Tom is taking a look at the freshly launched patch for Control Ultimate Edition on consoles, which delivers various improvements - chief amongst them being PS5 Pro support, improved anti-aliasing on all systems and an unlocked VRR mode for both quality and performance modes. There's a basic screenshot above. Beyond that, he's also got some capture of the BLOPs 7 beta. If it's interesting enough, we'll do a video. If it's not, maybe we'll discuss on the Direct.

• Rich (ie me) is looking to complete the long-awaited FSR 4/RDNA 2 video and then it's on to the big handheld testing project with Asus Xbox ROG Ally X and GPD Win 5 in mind. I may also be helping out with Battlefield 6 PC coverage, but it'll be Mohammed handling the optimised settings.

• John continues the big retro marathon. The Tony Hawk 3-4 episode will be completed and will go out exclusively to retro tier supporters, then he moves onto the big Xbox 360 20th anniversary video. In the meantime, he is working with Audi and the My Life in Gaming chaps on the new DF Retro podcast! Oh - and at some point he wants to cover Ninja Gaiden 4.

• Alex is working on sponsored PC retro content!

• Oliver is the man for our Battlefield 6 coverage on consoles, which looks set to dominate the week and may also be helping out on the PC BF6 #content too. Persona 3 Reload on Switch 2? He's interested in taking a look!

Back to work for me then, but as usual, please feel free to offer suggestions and comments! Have a great week!

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Review: Big Gaming Performance Improvements, AAA Titles Finally Tamed

This one's going live later today - all Supporters can watch now.

The new Apple iPhone 17 Pro promises - and delivers - big performance enhancements, the upshot of this being a highly significant improvement in triple-A games that prior iPhones have struggled to handle. Oliver Mackenzie gets to grips with the new phone, benchmarks the A19 Pro SoC and stacks it up against prior iPhone generations in this exhaustive review.

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DF Direct Weekly #234: Huge Game Pass Price Hike Causes Outrage, New PS5 Teardown

The latest DF Direct is dominated by discussion of Microsoft's gigantic price hikes for Game Pass - proof positive that the previous prices were unsustainable, or a greedy cash grab from Xbox? And who exactly wants the new content added to the top-end tier? Meanwhile, the team share their thoughts on the new Austin Evans PS5 teardown video, while Rich reports on a brace of native Steam Deck ports: Baldur's Gate 3 and Cronos. The former shows big improvements, but there's confusion surrounding Cronos. Meanwhile, John's back with plenty of stories from his latest visit to Japan.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:27 News 1: Game Pass hit by massive price hikes

0:32:39 News 2: New PS5 Slim disassembled, examined

0:43:54 News 3: Native Steam Deck versions of Cronos, Baldur’s Gate 3 arrive

0:55:52 News 4: New DualSense reportedly features replaceable battery

1:02:14 News 5: John reports back from Japan

1:22:04 Supporter Q1: What do you think of the Panzer Dragoon Zwei remake?

1:30:12 Supporter Q2: Will the PlayStation handheld produce better visual results than Strix Halo handhelds?

1:36:32 Supporter Q3: What lessons can PC handhelds take from Switch 2 and its DLSS?

1:48:04 Supporter Q4: How do you think the PS6 will be initially received?

1:54:04 Supporter Q5: Do Wii games look good on a flatscreen with a typical remastering treatment?

1:58:41 Supporter Q6: What did everyone’s retro PC setups look like?

DF Direct Weekly #234 Is Now Available

The latest DF Direct is dominated by discussion of Microsoft's gigantic price hikes for Game Pass - proof positive that the previous prices were unsustainable, or a greedy cash grab from Xbox? And who exactly wants the new content added to the top-end tier? Meanwhile, the team share their thoughts on the new Austin Evans PS5 teardown video, while Rich reports on a brace of native Steam Deck ports: Baldur's Gate 3 and Cronos. The former shows big improvements, but there's confusion surrounding Cronos. Meanwhile, John's back with plenty of stories from his latest visit to Japan.

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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #234

Hi everyone, apologies for the lateness of the Call For Question post, but here we go. It's going to be a big one, I guess, as Microsoft's reorganisation of its Game(s) Pass offering is our lead discussion point in the next show. I'm sure you have lots of opinions about that, of course, but let's try to have some non-GP questions too!

Other topics? Hopefully we'll have some time to look at two Steam Deck native ports - Baldur's Gate 3 and Cronos - and we'll also be discussing the new PS5 Slim, as "torn down" by Austin Evans. More topics, you say? How about John's experiences in Japan and his takeaways from the Tokyo Game Show?

We may also comment on the GPD Win 5 review from The Phawx, though I should say that my own review unit turned up today! Oh, and finally, AA batteries for the Dual Sense. Yes or no? That news item may well end up in the Direct too.

In the meantime, many thanks - as ever - for your prospective inputs into the next Direct!