About this podcast
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 372 episodes
- DF Direct Q+A: Ex-Sony Boss Calls For $300 PS5 - Should Console Makers Focus On Cost? · 48 minShould consoles makers focus on price as hardware costs continue to skyrocket? An ex-Sony executive thinks so - but is a $300 PS5 even remotely achievable? In a similar vein…
- DF Direct Weekly #289: Should Zelda Use DLSS? Nintendo HDR Issues, Xbox FSR 4.1.2 Performance · 1 h 18 min · Season 1 Episode 289Looking for an ad-free Direct? Join the DF Supporter Program for an ad-free RSS feed and ad-free, high quality video downloads of everything we do, plus early access…
- DF Direct Q+A: Current-Gen Consoles: Success Or Failure? · 59 minHow will history regard the current console generation: success or failure? The panel decides! Meanwhile, will Chinese fabrication tech solve the AI hardware crisis? Is using the…
- DF Direct Weekly #288: Phantom Blade Zero PC Tested, FSR 4.1 Handheld, Switch 2 Lite? · 1 h 14 min · Season 1 Episode 288In a packed new Direct, Rich dissects the PC version of Phantom Blade Zero - does it run well on mainstream hardware? What about RT and path tracing? Meanwhile, Oliver discusses…
- DF Direct Q+A: Helix 2028 "Delay"...? Xbox's Review Problem Fixed? Will Switch 2 DLSS Improve? · 49 minEver wondered why game coverage often neglects Xbox consoles? It's an issue we've highlighted before and after Call of Duty failed to register on Metacritic, Microsoft is finally…
- DF Direct Weekly #287: Xbox Helix $1200-$1800? BioWare Shut, FSR 4 RDNA 2 + Xbox, Sony Frame Gen! · 1 h 13 min · Season 1 Episode 287Big 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Has RTX 5090 Actually Been Discontinued? GTA 6 PS5/Pro Differences? · 1 h 3 minReports 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #286: Xbox Ally X20 Tested, DLSS Frame Gen/DLSS 5 Perf Boost, Epic All-In On AI · 1 h 4 min · Season 1 Episode 286A 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: GTA 6 - Will AI Enable "Pirate" PC Ports? How Will Sony React To The PS5 Jailbreak? · 46 minIn 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #285: Dragon's Dogma 2 Switch 2, P.T Native PC Port, Galactic Racer PC Tested! · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 285Dragon'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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Is PS5 QSSR Really A Game-Changer? Will Xbox Series X|S Get ML Upscaling? · 41 minAfter 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #284: Ghost of Yōtei QSSR Tested, Star Wars Galactic Racer, Gears E-Day PC · 1 h 15 min · Season 1 Episode 284DF 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…
- DF Direct Special: PlayStation QSSR - AI Upscaling For Standard PS5 - A Current-Gen Gamechanger? · 33 minA 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: PS5 Emulation on PC, Will Halo Move To COD Tech, Will PCs Replace Consoles? · 50 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #283: Halo Moves To Activision, Next-Gen TFLOPs, Silent Hill Townfall Tested! · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 283An 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Switch 2 60FPS Frame-Gen - How Good/Bad Is It? Should Next-Gen Be Delayed? · 50 minStellar 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #282: 007 First Light Path Tracing, Kingmakers Gameplay, New GPUs Delayed To 2028? · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 282In 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Hands-On With Steam Frame, Half-Life Alyx Standalone + More · 51 minWith 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #281: Kojima's Psyint Canned By Sony, Coming To Xbox, Switch 2 VRR, Ocarina of Time · 1 h 34 min · Season 1 Episode 281A 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Will AMD Deliver Its Own DLSS 5? Will CD Projekt RED Bring Back The RED Engine? · 42 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #280: John on GTA 6, State of Play Disappoints, Helix "Family of Devices" · 1 h 16 min · Season 1 Episode 280The 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…
- DLSS 5 Tested: NBA 2K27 Image Quality + Benchmarks, Mods And More · 1 h 17 minSix 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #279: The Witcher 3 Remaster Reaction, Xbox Disc To Digital, Best of Gamescom 2026! · 1 h 17 min · Season 1 Episode 279While 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…
- Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look: The Most Impressive Real-Time Game Graphics Yet? · 1 h 16 min26 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: What If PlayStation 6 Is Actually The New PS Portable/Handheld? · 46 minAt 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #278: Sony Undecided On PS6 Price/Launch Date, Black Myth Zhong Kui Gameplay · 1 h 15 min · Season 1 Episode 278We'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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Oblivion Remastered - Can Switch 2 Optimisations Fix PS5/PC/Xbox Versions? · 53 minBethesda 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #277: Crimson Desert Switch 2 Confirmed, Gears E-Day PC Tested, Viture XR Glasses! · 1 h 24 min · Season 1 Episode 277The 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)…
- DF Direct Q+A: Celebrating DF Independence - One Year Since Leaving IGN! · 59 minIt'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…
- DF Direct Weekly #276: GTA 6 An Extended Look Reveal Reaction, Quakecon 2026, Xbox 360 On PC · 1 h 27 min · Season 1 Episode 276What 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Sony Finally Responds To End-Of-Disc Backlash - And It's Not Good News · 55 minIt 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #275: This Is The Most Performant Console Generation Since 16-Bit 2D · 1 h 24 min · Season 1 Episode 275The 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Too Expensive? No Exclusives? Is Next-Gen Just For Enthusiasts? · 53 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #274: OG Xbox/Xbox 360 PC 'Back Compat', Valve - Memory Crisis "Getting Worse" · 1 h 20 min · Season 1 Episode 274In 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Creation Engine 3 in Elder Scrolls 6/Fallout 5, Is Doom THE Great American Videogame? · 51 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #273: The Future of Fallout + Elder Scrolls, Xbox Account Deletion, Switch 2 OLED? · 1 h 37 min · Season 1 Episode 273Bethesda 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: How Does The Xbox Reset Impact Project Helix? · 47 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #272: id Software Lay-Offs Damage Control, COD Black Ops PS5, 5 Years Of Steam Deck · 1 h 25 min · Season 1 Episode 272In 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Xbox 'Reset' Worse Than Expected - Huge Job Losses + The End of idTech? · 1 h 3 minOne 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #271: The End Of PlayStation Physical Media & True Game Ownership · 1 h 11 min · Season 1 Episode 271Sony 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: The Big "$1000 Next-Gen Console" Debate + Is GTA 6 Over-Hyped? · 1 h 0 minIn 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #270: GTA 6 Screens: Are They Real-Time, Xbox Price Jump, FSR 4 on RDNA 3 · 1 h 18 min · Season 1 Episode 270Oliver, 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?…
- DF Direct Q+A: Steam Machine - The Big Price/Performance/Form Factor Debate · 40 minIn 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #269: GTA 6 News Reaction, UE5 Upgrades, UE6, Gears E-Day Tech Demo · 1 h 11 min · Season 1 Episode 269Actual 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: Xbox Reboot Studio Closure Reports, RTX 50-Series Super Returns? ARM ML Rendering · 54 minThe 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #268: Ocarina of Time Remake, Nintendo Direct, Fable Gameplay, RTX 3060 Returns · 1 h 13 min · Season 1 Episode 268Nintendo 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…
- DF Direct Q+A: The Big "Xbox Reset" Memo Debate - What Happens Next? · 50 minOur 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…
- DF Direct Weekly #267: Resi Evil Veronica, FF7 Revelation, Stellar Blade 2 - The Big SGF Video · 1 h 6 min · Season 1 Episode 267Taped 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…
- DF Direct Special: Xbox Showcase 2026: Gears E-Day, Halo, Senua, Metro 2039 Reaction + More · 1 h 11 minIt'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…
- DF Direct Special: Nintendo Switch 2 - Year One - The Digital Foundry Verdict · 51 minAt 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…
