Podcasts · Leisure · News

Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

Digital Foundry

300 episodes

When it comes to video games and the hardware and tech we play them on, the team at Digital Foundry are unparalleled experts. Each week, DF Direct breaks down the latest breakthroughs in video game visuals, sound, and performance happening on PlayStation, Xbox, the most powerful PC setups, and more. If you’re a geek for graphics, GPUs, or just video games in general, DF Direct will help you get the most out of your gaming setup.

More about the show

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. DF Direct Weekly #287: Xbox Helix $1200-$1800? BioWare Shut, FSR 4 RDNA 2 + Xbox, Sony Frame Gen!

    · 1 h 14 min · S1 E287

    Big news this week from Fortune, with an insider feature on Xbox that combines deep access to senior management along with a range of big reveals: a Helix console costing between $1200 to $1800 coming 2028? A handheld…

  2. DF Direct Q+A: Has RTX 5090 Actually Been Discontinued? GTA 6 PS5/Pro Differences?

    · 1 h 03 min

    Reports that Nvidia's RTX 5090 gaming flagship would be discontinued gathered pace, with Nvidia finally denying cancellation of the card. But in a world where a 5090 can cost $8000, is its presence in the gaming market…

  3. DF Direct Weekly #286: Xbox Ally X20 Tested, DLSS Frame Gen/DLSS 5 Perf Boost, Epic All-In On AI

    · 1 h 05 min · S1 E286

    A year on from its initial launch, Xbox Ally gets a brilliant OLED upgrade for the new X20 edition but are we any closer to an actual Xbox-like experience? Meanwhile, Nvidia delivers faster frame-gen and DLSS 5 while…

  4. DF Direct Q+A: GTA 6 - Will AI Enable "Pirate" PC Ports? How Will Sony React To The PS5 Jailbreak?

    · 46 min

    In the new AI era, it seems that decompilation, recompilation and unofficial ports are child's play - so what are the chances of an unofficial GTA 6 PC port before Rockstar delivers the real thing? And adjacent to…

  5. DF Direct Weekly #285: Dragon's Dogma 2 Switch 2, P.T Native PC Port, Galactic Racer PC Tested!

    · 59 min · S1 E285

    Dragon's Dogma 2 launched with problematic performance on current-gen consoles, making a Switch 2 port seemingly impossible. But the game improved and now the Switch 2 version is here and it's almost brilliant. The…

  6. DF Direct Q+A: Is PS5 QSSR Really A Game-Changer? Will Xbox Series X|S Get ML Upscaling?

    · 41 min

    After the out-of-the-blue, completely unleaked release of QSSR upscaling for PlayStation 5, Digital Foundry supporters and the panel attempt to provide some answers, while tackling the question of whether Xbox Series…

  7. DF Direct Weekly #284: Ghost of Yōtei QSSR Tested, Star Wars Galactic Racer, Gears E-Day PC

    · 1 h 16 min · S1 E284

    DF returns to QSSR coverage with a closer look at Ghost of Yōtei, with John weighing in with his opinions on Marvel's Wolverine too. Rich reveals that Sony isn't the first to port an AI upscaler to a non-AI based GPU,…

  8. DF Direct Special: PlayStation QSSR - AI Upscaling For Standard PS5 - A Current-Gen Gamechanger?

    · 33 min

    A surprise to be sure - and a welcome one. Out of the blue, Sony has released QSSR - Quick Spectral Super Resolution - a refactoring of PS5 Pro's PSSR for the standard PlayStation 5. In this video, Rich and Oliver…

  9. DF Direct Q+A: PS5 Emulation on PC, Will Halo Move To COD Tech, Will PCs Replace Consoles?

    · 50 min

    The progress in PS5 emulation for PC is becoming extremely rapid - so just how viable is it and should Sony be worried? Meanwhile, Rich, Oliver and Will discuss a range of topics: can PS5 Pro run PSSR and FSR frame gen…

  10. DF Direct Weekly #283: Halo Moves To Activision, Next-Gen TFLOPs, Silent Hill Townfall Tested!

    · 1 h 01 min · S1 E283

    An extremely busy week at the Foundry but the Direct cannot be stopped - the team discuss the latest news as the "Xbox Reset" enters Phase Two and Halo is shipped off to Activision. Meanwhile, Rich, Oliver and Tom join…

  11. DF Direct Q+A: Switch 2 60FPS Frame-Gen - How Good/Bad Is It? Should Next-Gen Be Delayed?

    · 50 min

    Stellar Blade on Switch 2 enforces the use of frame generation to target 60fps - and Capcom is offering the same feature with a toggle in the upcoming Dragon's Dogma 2 port. So how does it work and what have we learned…

  12. DF Direct Weekly #282: 007 First Light Path Tracing, Kingmakers Gameplay, New GPUs Delayed To 2028?

    · 59 min · S1 E282

    In a bit of a slow week for news, the team goes hands-on with a bunch of cool games to present their findings - principal amongst them being 007 First Light's visually stunning, but incredibly taxing path tracing…

  13. DF Direct Q+A: Hands-On With Steam Frame, Half-Life Alyx Standalone + More

    · 51 min

    With Steam Frame just missing the embargo for the last DF Direct, John, Rich and Oliver share impressions of Valve's latest hardware plus there's some ARM standalone testing of Half-Life Alyx, Cyberpunk 2077 and…

  14. DF Direct Weekly #281: Kojima's Psyint Canned By Sony, Coming To Xbox, Switch 2 VRR, Ocarina of Time

    · 1 h 35 min · S1 E281

    A massive week for news. PlayStation ends decades of partnership with Hideo Kojima as Physint is cancelled by Sony - but picked up by Microsoft, meaning it's coming to Xbox. The team take a look at the…

  15. DF Direct Q+A: Will AMD Deliver Its Own DLSS 5? Will CD Projekt RED Bring Back The RED Engine?

    · 42 min

    The DF Direct Q+A Show returns and suffice it to say, there's a huge amount of interest around DLSS 5. Will AMD and indeed Intel deliver equivalent tech? What are the limits of DLSS 5 and how will they be overcome?…

  16. DF Direct Weekly #280: John on GTA 6, State of Play Disappoints, Helix "Family of Devices"

    · 1 h 16 min · S1 E280

    The Digital Foundry panel convene to talk about Sony's disappointing State of Play, John shares his thoughts on the Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look and there are more hints about Xbox's next-gen strategy as Asha…

  17. DLSS 5 Tested: NBA 2K27 Image Quality + Benchmarks, Mods And More

    · 1 h 17 min

    Six months after its reveal, DLSS 5 has launched with NBA 2K27 and its utilisation is a world apart from the first clips, not to mention the vast array of modded footage we've seen since its leak last week. Rich, John…

  18. DF Direct Weekly #279: The Witcher 3 Remaster Reaction, Xbox Disc To Digital, Best of Gamescom 2026!

    · 1 h 18 min · S1 E279

    While Grand Theft Auto 6's gameplay reveal somewhat overshadowed proceedings, it was indeed Gamescom 2026 this week and with Rich's legs giving out, it was down to John to represent us at the show. So, after dispensing…

  19. Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look: The Most Impressive Real-Time Game Graphics Yet?

    · 1 h 17 min

    26 minutes of actual GTA 6 gameplay "dropped" - and on balance, it's one of the most extraordinary visual accomplishments ever seen in real-time game graphics. It's not perfect - nothing can be - but in this DF Direct…

  20. DF Direct Q+A: What If PlayStation 6 Is Actually The New PS Portable/Handheld?

    · 46 min

    At the time of recording, it was the lull before the storm that is Gamescom 2026 - but we've still got a bunch of fascinating questions to wade through. Have we got it all wrong with PlayStation 6? Is it actually the…

  21. DF Direct Weekly #278: Sony Undecided On PS6 Price/Launch Date, Black Myth Zhong Kui Gameplay

    · 1 h 15 min · S1 E278

    We're not going to be commenting on leaks from a stolen GTA 6 build that's years old and promoting a memecoin but we WILL be talking about Sony's comments on not knowing PS6's pricing and release date and assessing the…

  22. DF Direct Q+A: Oblivion Remastered - Can Switch 2 Optimisations Fix PS5/PC/Xbox Versions?

    · 53 min

    Bethesda is promising a new patch for Oblivion Remastered based on the Switch 2 version's optimisations - but is there any evidence to suggest that the Switch 2 improvements will make any real differences for the other…

  23. DF Direct Weekly #277: Crimson Desert Switch 2 Confirmed, Gears E-Day PC Tested, Viture XR Glasses!

    · 1 h 24 min · S1 E277

    The team react to Pearl Abyss' statement that Crimson Desert is - somehow - coming to Switch 2, but the first order of business is to share impressions (and performance testing) for the Gears of War E-Day MP beta on…

  24. DF Direct Q+A: Celebrating DF Independence - One Year Since Leaving IGN!

    · 59 min

    It's been a year since Digital Foundry parted ways with IGN, buying out its shares and becoming completely independent. The team discuss the challenges of the last 12 months within the context of continuing bad news…

  25. DF Direct Weekly #276: GTA 6 An Extended Look Reveal Reaction, Quakecon 2026, Xbox 360 On PC

    · 1 h 27 min · S1 E276

    What was looking like a fairly quiet week turned into a frenzy with the news that Rockstar will be publishing an "extended look" at Grand Theft Auto 6 on August 27 - but what should we expect? And why on earth would…

  26. DF Direct Q+A: Sony Finally Responds To End-Of-Disc Backlash - And It's Not Good News

    · 55 min

    It took a Q+A session of its own within a financial earnings call - as opposed to talking directly to its users - but Sony has finally responded to the backlash whipped up by its announcement of the cancellation of…

  27. DF Direct Weekly #275: This Is The Most Performant Console Generation Since 16-Bit 2D

    · 1 h 25 min · S1 E275

    The news has been pretty grim for the last few months, so why not concentrate on the positives? PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have delivered the best performing videogame generation since the 16-bit 2D era with more…

  28. DF Direct Q+A: Too Expensive? No Exclusives? Is Next-Gen Just For Enthusiasts?

    · 53 min

    The hardware situation grows more bleak by the week, so where does this leave next generation consoles? If they're too expensive, will developers target them over current-gen hardware? Is enhanced RT and path tracing…

  29. DF Direct Weekly #274: OG Xbox/Xbox 360 PC 'Back Compat', Valve - Memory Crisis "Getting Worse"

    · 1 h 21 min · S1 E274

    In the latest DF Direct Weekly, we go deeper into the OG Xbox emulator for PC... which is actually running within an Xbox 360 emulator, Inception-style. So what's the masterplan from Microsoft? The team mull over the…

  30. DF Direct Q+A: Creation Engine 3 in Elder Scrolls 6/Fallout 5, Is Doom THE Great American Videogame?

    · 51 min

    The Q+A show returns, with Rich, Oliver and Will getting to grips with the potential of the Creation Engine 3 in The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, while assessing the merits of Doom as THE great American videogame.…

  31. DF Direct Weekly #273: The Future of Fallout + Elder Scrolls, Xbox Account Deletion, Switch 2 OLED?

    · 1 h 38 min · S1 E273

    Bethesda tweets out its current Fallout/Elders Scrolls plans... but why? Meanwhile, digital accounts and draconian anti-consumer limitations come into focus, the Ryzen 7 7700X3D is released and Capcom reveals good news…

  32. DF Direct Q+A: How Does The Xbox Reset Impact Project Helix?

    · 47 min

    The fallout from the Xbox Reset continues as more questions are raised: does Xbox's recent pivots change the plan for Project Helix? Will it still allow other PC stores to run on it? Will it have a disc drive?…

  33. DF Direct Weekly #272: id Software Lay-Offs Damage Control, COD Black Ops PS5, 5 Years Of Steam Deck

    · 1 h 26 min · S1 E272

    In the wake of the outcry against the decimation of id Software, Microsoft and seemingly id itself try to downplay the damage and reassure the audience - but what do we think of this - and indeed John Carmack's…

  34. DF Direct Q+A: Xbox 'Reset' Worse Than Expected - Huge Job Losses + The End of idTech?

    · 1 h 03 min

    One part necessary re-organisation, one part liberation for key developers, one part vandalism of Xbox studios, it's a mixture of disbelief and anger from the DF panel as the full extent of Xbox's so-called "reset"…

  35. DF Direct Weekly #271: The End Of PlayStation Physical Media & True Game Ownership

    · 1 h 11 min · S1 E271

    Sony announces the end of PlayStation game discs via a three paragraph blog post - bringing to an end the era of physical media and actually owning the games you buy, along with the right to resell them, share them and…

  36. DF Direct Q+A: The Big "$1000 Next-Gen Console" Debate + Is GTA 6 Over-Hyped?

    · 1 h 01 min

    In the wake of Steam Machine pricing and sharp Xbox MSRP increases, are we looking at the prospect of a $1000 next-gen console? John, Rich and Oliver discuss. Meanwhile, in the current climate, how can you save money…

  37. DF Direct Weekly #270: GTA 6 Screens: Are They Real-Time, Xbox Price Jump, FSR 4 on RDNA 3

    · 1 h 19 min · S1 E270

    Oliver, Rich and Tom discuss GTA 6. Are the 63 new screenshots indicative of actual gameplay? What about the "code in a box" situation? Are the latest PS5 Pro rumours plausible? Meanwhile, the panel is shocked by the…

  38. DF Direct Q+A: Steam Machine - The Big Price/Performance/Form Factor Debate

    · 40 min

    In the wake of our Steam Machine review, Rich and Will tackle a range of Supporter questions on the price, value and design of the hardware, the ability of Valve to supply it - and the future of SteamOS in general.…

  39. DF Direct Weekly #269: GTA 6 News Reaction, UE5 Upgrades, UE6, Gears E-Day Tech Demo

    · 1 h 11 min · S1 E269

    Actual GTA 6 news - and a new clip - see John, Tom and Oliver "concerned" over missing RT reflections. Then it's onto Unreal Fest with discussion on the latest Unreal Engine 5 upgrades and the implications of AI in…

  40. DF Direct Q+A: Xbox Reboot Studio Closure Reports, RTX 50-Series Super Returns? ARM ML Rendering

    · 54 min

    The team is left reeling after reports emerge of studios on the brink within Microsoft - a far cry from the highs of the summer showcase and previous comments from management about preserving their studio structure.…

  41. DF Direct Weekly #268: Ocarina of Time Remake, Nintendo Direct, Fable Gameplay, RTX 3060 Returns

    · 1 h 13 min · S1 E268

    Nintendo Direct rounds off the big summer gaming events and... well, it's a mixed bag for sure. What have we learned about the Ocarina of Time Remake? How well are the third party ports holding up? John, Rich and…

  42. DF Direct Q+A: The Big "Xbox Reset" Memo Debate - What Happens Next?

    · 50 min

    Our audience has questions, we've got answers - but first, the team gets to grips with the contents of Asha Sharma and Matt Booty's Xbox Reset memo. Beyond that, is Xbox console exclusivity the best route forward?…

  43. DF Direct Weekly #267: Resi Evil Veronica, FF7 Revelation, Stellar Blade 2 - The Big SGF Video

    · 1 h 06 min · S1 E267

    Taped before we produced our Xbox Showcase coverage, it's John, Rich and Oliver at their respective microphones to discuss all the big games at the recent Summer Game Fest. Geoff came good - as this excellent line-up…

  44. DF Direct Special: Xbox Showcase 2026: Gears E-Day, Halo, Senua, Metro 2039 Reaction + More

    · 1 h 12 min

    It's Xbox's time to shine with the latest in the big summer showcases and Team Green certainly delivered. Gears of War: E-Day finally breaks cover, Halo Campaign Evolved impresses, while Senua, Metro 2039 and…

  45. DF Direct Special: Nintendo Switch 2 - Year One - The Digital Foundry Verdict

    · 51 min

    At the time of publication, it has been one year and one day since Nintendo launched the Switch 2 console - so, as is DF tradition, it's time to look back over the last year and assess the system's track record so far.…

  46. DF Direct Q+A: Can Switch 2 Handle 60FPS Call of Duty? Custom PC vs Steam Machine, Nvidia RTX Spark

    · 50 min

    With the welcome announcement of Call of Duty coming to Switch 2, the question is... can the hardware handle the series' signature 60fps? Meanwhile, what does Nvidia aim to achieve with its new RTX Spark processor? In…

  47. DF Direct Special: State of Play June 2026 Reaction - Wolverine, God of War Laufey, Tomb Raider, Rayman + More!

    · 47 min

    The summer games showcase event season is upon us and Sony is first off the mark with an excellent showing. God of War Laufey and Marvel's Wolverine are the highlights of the event, but there's plenty more that caught…

  48. DF Direct Weekly #266: Huge Steam Deck Price Rises, New Witcher 3 Expansion, Switch 2 COD, MGS4!

    · 1 h 30 min · S1 E266

    The shock news of +40% price rises for Steam Deck kicks off a BIG Direct this week, swiftly followed by the team's first impressions of the PC version of 007 First Light - and its ker-azy upscaling issues. The new Call…

  49. DF Direct Q+A: What Is Unreal Engine 6? If Steam Is A Monopoly, Why Do We Like it?

    · 53 min

    The team sit down once more to discuss the latest questions from DF Supporters. What do we make of Unreal Engine 6's debut in Rocket League of all places? Has Epic delivered a version of Lumen that is performant enough…

  50. DF Direct Weekly #265: The End of Destiny 2, Lego Batman Tested, Yoshi Switch 2

    · 1 h 25 min · S1 E265

    John, Oliver and Rich sit down to discuss the latest gaming and technology news, kicking off with the end of the road for Destiny 2. It's had a fantastic long run, but where does that leave Bungie? Following that, it's…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.