Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

Another packed Direct Q+A show sees Oliver, Rich and Alex getting to grips with high-end graphics: are they actually worth it and are technological advances worth pushing? Meanwhile, can Switch 2 last for the 6-7 years Nintendo wants it to - or will next-gen consoles make it obsolete for multi-platform titles? All this and more in the new Direct Q+A Show. 00:00 Introduction 00:53 Supporter Q1: Is the high end PC experience really worth it? Should we stop pushing top-tier visuals in general? 11:07 Supporter Q2: Will we have to wait years for a SWOLED 2? What should we make of Nintendo’s reported increase in R&D spend? 19:44 Supporter Q3: Can Switch 2 handle another 6 or 7 years of cross-gen software? 24:46 Supporter Q4: Given inflation, isn’t it true that gaming hardware today is relatively cheap? 31:02 Supporter Q5: Could Microsoft ship a version of Windows for Xbox Series? 35:36 Supporter Q6: Will Project Helix hardware prove tempting for AI users? 39:09 Supporter Q7: Is PC emulation on Android ready for prime time? 44:04 Supporter Q8: What would you do in 2026 with an old 10-series PC? 49:17 Supporter Q9: How much does Oliver cut out of DF Direct every week?

In this week's Direct, Oliver, John and Rich get to grips with the reveal of Nintendo's Star Fox remake for Switch 2, there's justified concern over the Nintendo price hike for its new console, while Activision confirms that the next Call of Duty will finally leave last generation hardware behind. Meanwhile, the Pragmata resolution saga continues with an undocumented resolution hike for the PlayStation 5 Professional, while Pragmata (again) has an unconventional way to boost performance on Switch 2. And finally, the panel mark the 10th anniversary of Nvidia's remarkable Pascal architecture.0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:19 News 1: Nintendo reveals Star Fox! 0:17:18 News 2: Nintendo increases Switch 2 prices 0:27:38 News 3: Next Call of Duty drops PS40:39:05 News 4: Pragmata gets surprise PS5 Pro resolution bump 0:46:39 News 5: Switch 2 GameChat can boost game performance! 0:56:24 News 6: Nvidia 10 series hits 10 year anniversary!

A new Q+A show sees John, Rich and Alex tackle a number of big questions. Is Project Helix a console or PC? What's the difference nowadays anyway? Will Microsoft's "K2" initiative win back users lamenting the Windows experience? Meanwhile, with no games focusing on ray tracing, will rasterised fallbacks decline in quality going forward? All this and much, much more.00:00 Introduction 00:50 Supporter Q1: When does a console become a PC? 10:27 Supporter Q2: What should we expect from Microsoft’s “K2” plan for Windows? 21:33 Supporter Q3: Will developers stop caring about their raster-only graphics? 34:19 Supporter Q4: What do you think of the Neo Geo AES+?39:19 Supporter Q5: Why is Intel starting to ignore gaming dGPUs? 44:54 Supporter Q6: Is using frame gen to get to 30fps acceptable? 51:12 Supporter Q7: Do you know what pico means in Chilean Spanish?

Exploited PS5s can now run Linux - so obviously we had to check it out, running Steam versions of Crimson Desert, Black Myth Wukong and Pragmata on Linux via Steam, stacked up against the actual PS5 versions - with some fascinating results. Meanwhile, Alex talks us through an amazing tech presentation from the developers of Teardown, John impresses us with his new Anbernic RG477M, Tom provides us test data to prove that Oblivion Remastered is indeed still "broken", while Rich and Alex come to terms with the fact that it's time to say goodbye to the Ryzen 5 3600. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:15 News 1: Linux gaming on PS5 tested! 0:26:31 News 2: Teardown devs highlight voxel ray tracing enhancements 0:38:10 News 3: Anbernic retro handheld tested! 0:50:31 News 4: Oblivion Remastered is still broken 0:59:29 News 5: Saying goodbye to the Ryzen 5 3600

Some excellent questions from Digital Foundry Supporters this week. Does the F1 25 PS5 Pro path tracing demo and ReSTIR optimisations mean that path tracing is going mainstream - maybe for next gen? Is there still untapped potential in PS5 and Series X? Is Microsoft's new "We Are Xbox" strategy document just a massive balloon of hot air? Is Nvidia making path tracing an exclusive feature and what do we think about that? And... a year on from release, why Oblivion Remastered still broken? 00:00 Introduction 00:35 Supporter Q1: Will path tracing efficiency improvements bring PT to current gen console games? 12:30 Supporter Q2: Is there still untapped potential in PS5 and Series X? 19:25 Supporter Q3: Have we hit the peak of ML image reconstruction? 27:45 Supporter Q4: Why is path tracing exclusive to Nvidia in so many recent games? 32:54 Supporter Q5: Will Oblivion Remastered ever be fixed? 39:57 Supporter Q6: Would games really run 30% faster if they were optimized for Intel CPUs? 45:31 Supporter Q7: Do Microsoft’s recent Xbox promises mean anything?

A new DF Direct arrives and with it, some remarkable news that failed to emerge from this year's GDC - namely that Codemasters has a demo of path tracing working on the PS5 Pro version of F1 25. How good is it? How fast is it? Alex clues us in. Meanwhile, the team discuss the AC Black Flag Resynced reveal, Tom looks at Mouse PI For Hire across several platforms and there's much excitement about the prospect of Panther Lake arriving in the handheld space. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:03 News 1: GDC talk: F1 25 path tracing implemented on PS5 Pro 0:20:22 News 2: LiberNovo Omni Chair [Sponsored] 0:33:15 News 3: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced revealed! 0:44:09 News 4: Game Pass Ultimate price slashed, Call of Duty access restricted 1:03:05 News 5: News 5: Mouse: P.I. For Hire tested! 1:18:11 News 6: Intel planning Panther Lake handheld reveal

The new Direct sees Alex, Rich and Oliver reacting to the reveal of Metro 2039 - and it looks like another technical showcase from the brilliant 4A Games. Nvidia denies wanting to acquire a big PC manufacturer, but it kinda of makes sense, so is it going to happen? The team share disbelief about the quality of tech QA on Starfield PS5's launch, before moving on to Asha Sharma's comments about Game(s) Pass being too expensive. There's a warm welcome for the return of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D - but how much will it cost? And finally, what happened when Pragmata on PS5 ran at 1440p on Rich's PS5 - but only 1080p on Oliver and Tom's consoles? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:13 News 1: Metro 2039 revealed! 0:15:50 News 2: Nvidia: we aren’t acquiring a PC maker 0:22:58 News 3: Bethesda: Starfield PS5 crash fixes incoming 0:33:16 News 4: Asha Sharma: Game Pass is too expensive 0:44:16 News 5: Report: Ryzen 5800X3D to return 0:54:33 Content discussion: is Pragmata on PS5 1080p or 1440p?

In the latest edition of the DF Direct Q+A show, we tackle the question of whether Switch 2 and the upcoming Sony handheld should spawn cheaper "micro-console" variants. We ponder the reasons behind the delay of the Switch 2 port of 007 First Light. Why do Xbox games have screen-tearing where Sony versions do not? And a big one - is console gaming and gaming in general stagnating? 00:00 Introduction 00:44 Supporter Q1: Should Nintendo release a home console-only version of Switch 2? And should Sony package their PS6 handheld as a home console? 10:16 Supporter Q2: Given recent handheld price spikes, what’s a realistic price for a PS6 handheld? 16:36 Supporter Q3: Is the 007 First Light delay for Switch 2 a good thing? 22:06 Supporter Q4: Why do Xbox games often tear when their PS5 counterparts are perfectly v-synced? 28:50 Supporter Q5: Have console stagnation and game engine homogeneity made gaming boring? 38:51 Supporter Q6: Should PC settings options be less granular? 45:58 Supporter Q7: Should console game devs introduce settings that don’t do anything to placate users?