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DF Direct Special Xbox Showcase Now Available (Patreon)

Published:
2025-06-10 18:41:52
Imported:
2026-06

Content

No early access here owing to timing reasons but we're making a Patreon post for this one in case you miss it.

The summer gaming events continue with the arrival of the Xbox Showcase. Microsoft has had a stellar 2025 and has delivered some exceptional events over the last few years - but this one doesn't quite make the grade. Rich, John and Oliver talk Ally handhelds, the pick of the games shown, the 2026 teases and we have capture and analysis of the "shadow dropped" port of Final Fantasy 16.

Please see the accompanying Patreon post for a podcast version.

Downloads [4K to follow]: https://www.digitalfoundry.net/df-direct-special-xbox-showcase-reaction-xbox-ally-handhelds-final-fantasy-16-tested-more

Files

DF Direct Special: Xbox Showcase Reaction - Xbox Ally Handhelds, Final Fantasy 16 Tested + More!

The summer gaming events continue with the arrival of the Xbox Showcase. Microsoft has had a stellar 2025 and has delivered some exceptional events over the last few years - but this one doesn't quite make the grade. Rich, John and Oliver talk Ally handhelds, the pick of the games shown, the 2026 teases and we have capture and analysis of the "shadow dropped" port of Final Fantasy 16. Join the DF Supporter Program for pristine video downloads, behind the scenes content, early access to new videos, early access to DF Direct Weekly and much, much more: https://bit.ly/3jEGjvx Go here to check out DF merch! https://store.digitalfoundry.net Subscribe for more Digital Foundry: http://bit.ly/DFSubscribe 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:43 Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X 0:15:51 Xbox full-screen experience on Windows 11 0:30:19 Final Fantasy 16 shadowdropped on Xbox - and we’ve tested it! 0:39:35 Ninja Gaiden 4 0:44:40 Persona 4 Revival 0:52:12 Beast of Reincarnation 0:56:46 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 1:04:13 2026 teases: Fable, Forza, Gears of War - and Halo? 1:09:02 Thoughts on the showcase

Comments

bb050dba

Great, that was fast! (I would actually love if there was always a patreon post for any video.)

Chris Gardner

Thanks as always for the analysis, but this seemed really negative at the start. We all knew that this was not going to be the true handhold Xbox console everyone was hoping for. However, I'm pleasantly surprised by the Windows OS changes. Microsoft knew that SteamOS was breathing down its neck and this was, in my opinion, a great first response. I fully expected a crappy Xbox app game bar over traditional Windows 11. Removing bloat and giving proper controls to key UI elements goes way beyond my expectations. This is a solid step in the right direction for handheld Windows PCs and, hopefully, Windows gaming in general (Microsoft, please release an ISO of this version of Windows down the road). I agree with you that the messaging is convoluted to say the least. Some people may buy this device and be disappointed. Two things: 1. I expect pricing to push away the casual crowd that may not understand the nuances in console games on a PC. And 2, I would be shocked if MS ISN'T working on a Series X/S emulation layer for PC. If they're willing to ditch the Windows that makes Windows "windows", I bet they're willing to bring your existing Xbox library to PC. I don't think Phil Spencer talked all those years about continuing to play legacy games just to abandon everyone's library. This is the first step. I was expecting a single - MS hit a double is running towards a triple. A Series X/S emulator would have been a homerun, but also a pipe dream right now. One step at a time.

BespokeEP

The worst thing about the messaging of the handheld is very similar to gamepass messaging. They say Play Day One with gamepass, but they never mention which version of gamepass it will be available on. I mean “Xbox live” is now called gamepass (core), but they always refer to it as just gamepass. But back to the handheld. They claimed that you can play your Xbox games natively, but someone who knows anything about hardware knows that they meant the windows PC version (cross buy), which like Rich was saying, is just 1st party and maybe a handful of 3rd party games. All this is, is an Xbox branded steam deck that runs windows lol and it will likely cost >$1000. If it was reasonably priced they would have screamed it from the rooftops

SonicX

will there be a 4k version?

BespokeEP

Gameranx just released a great video explaining clear as day what this handheld is and isn’t… Spoiler Alert… it isn’t an Xbox. See the link below or go to Gameranx’s YouTube and search for “Xbox handheld: 10 things you need to know” https://youtu.be/D3cno8NnbPo?si=Oset80sryWaf84D1

Engin Cetin

Thank you for your work 🙏