Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

With the recent legal challenges to the deal failing or crumbling as we speak, it's time to discuss the realities of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision, Blizzard and King. Where does the deal stand right now? What are/were Microsoft's business objectives? Can Call of Duty actually run on Nintendo Switch? Does the recent Sony deal mean Microsoft gets early access to PS6? And to conclude, what final words does the panel have for Xbox boss Phil Spencer?

00:00 Introductions

01:50 Acquisition overview and legal proceedings

10:02 Microsoft’s business objectives

25:44 Can Call of Duty work on Switch?

31:47 Would Call of Duty be compromised on PS6?

34:43 Current CMA proceedings

40:58 Discussion and final thoughts

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This week, the team take a look at the specs required to run Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on PC and discuss how crucial DirectStorage is to the future of PC gaming. Meanwhile, the AMD Starfield partnership sees specs reveals turned into an awkward marketing exercise that confuses gamers. Classic cut content is coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, while Rich reveals initial results using the world's first full HDMI 2.1 capture card.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:48 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PC requirements drop

00:29:11 Halo cut content returning to Master Chief Collection

00:35:40 X68000 Mini retro device has issues

00:38:26 Limited Run Games shows off new and old titles

00:47:02 Leaked document details Sega of America’s struggles

01:05:40 What’s up with the new HDMI 2.1 capture cards? And can’t PCs record 4K120 internally?

01:12:10 Does console software receive system-wide performance boosts over the course of a generation?

01:15:42 Why has Nvidia, besides the Switch, checked out of consoles?

01:23:24 Why was the Digital Foundry Twitter account in a Twitter Spaces event on UFOs?

01:26:32 Do you have plans for more conference commentary videos?

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In this week's DF Direct Weekly, the team discuss potential PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro hardware as revealed by... Microsoft? Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 16's motion blur is revised via a new patch, John tells us about a bunch of excellent PSVR2 games you may not have heard about - and the team chat tech concerning a potential Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag remake. Finally, CD Projekt RED's opinions about the Cyberpunk 2077 launch have caused some minor controversy... but why?

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:25 News 01: Microsoft expects $400 PS5 Slim, sub-$300 “Project Q” handheld

00:19:24 News 02: Final Fantasy 16 gets motion blur options

00:28:17 News 03: John’s PSVR2 game roundup!

00:41:57 News 04: Assassin’s Creed 4: Blag Flag remake rumoured

00:46:59 News 05: CD Projekt claims Cyberpunk reception was overly harsh

01:01:14 Supporter Q1: Now that RT is here, what’s the next big real-time graphical breakthrough?

01:14:20 Supporter Q2: Why can’t DLSS be added to the Nvidia Control Panel?

01:15:41 Supporter Q3: Now that gamers are used to 60fps, will it be hard for developers to go back? Is it smarter to target 60fps even if it means cutbacks to resolution?

01:23:51 Supporter Q4: People often claim that game updates improve performance, when they often don’t. How can gamers get over the placebo effect here?

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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?

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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?

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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?

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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