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It's that time again! The time where I typically kick off a Patreon post that begins with the words "It's that time again!". It can only mean our weekly call for questions, comments and topics for the next episode of DF Direct Weekly. It'll be Rich (ie me), John and Oliver at the mics this week and here's what we are covering.

First order of business is to rifle through the latest Nintendo Direct for some juicy stuff on the next wave of third party games includin "litmus" title Star Wars Outlaws. We also think we (finally) have something meaningful to say about the Magnus APU leak - which does seem to hint at a pretty ingenious AMD/Microsoft hook-up with just as many ramifications for the PC market as for console.

Other stuff? GPD and AyaNeo sticking the gigantic Strix Halo into a handheld is surely worth of comment, and with realistic pricing leaks on the Xbox ROG Ally and Ally X, we'll be asking the question of just what sort of price-points are acceptable for a handheld.

For now though, the stage is yours - feel free to occupy the webzone below with your input for the show. Deadline for entries is 7am BST on Friday. Yes, we're taping early again. Thanks in advance!

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Comments

jose

Can the switch 2 run Astro Bot

TMoney58

Hey, guys. Why do you think Apple has not embraced “true VRR” on their devices? ProMotion is better than a single fixed refresh rate, to be sure, but wouldn’t actual VRR br even better?

Peter Karadimas

Hello gentlemen, do you think the PlayStation 6 will be capable of handling path tracing? When do you think the first path tracing required game will ship?

Deadeyes

One of the big issues with screen space effects is how they break down at the edge of the screen, especially apparent for reflections. Why have we never seen developers just render a little extra off the edge of the screen to hide this problem? I could see it being done at half or even quarter res as an optimization and still looking much better and less distracting than the effect just disappearing at the edge of the screen. This seems imminently doable to me, but I've never seen it done. Thoughts?

Frustumalignedvoxelfog

By the beard of Leadbetter, ’tis a fine morn for counting shadows thrice baked. Given the rise in third-party publishers opting for game key cards rather than full physical cartridges on Switch 2, what’s stopping developers from reusing the full original Switch cart as the base (for backward compatibility) and then delivering the Switch 2 upgrade via a flag in the code, similar to how Xbox One games had One X upgrade patches? I suppose the cost of original Switch cartridges is considerably lower than that of Switch 2’s. Therefore, if the game has to be fully installed anyway, what’s the point?

[PLACEHOLDER]

Dear Digital Foundorks, in this era where every other major release is a remaster or remake, are there any off the beaten track franchises or titles you personally would be especially excited to see receive Capcom-style remake treatment?

bjorktribe

Dear Xbox, please make a Linux app so I can get my library on there. Thank you.

OculusVigil89

Hey Digital Foundry team! Apologize for posting this question here. I’m trying to figure out the best audio output settings for my PS5 Pro when using an LG S95QR soundbar on LG G4 OLED TV. I remember you guys had a discussion a couple of years back about Mark Cerny Dolby Atmos system update on PS5. Could you share your latest recommendation on which audio format to use for the best surround sound or Dolby Atmos supported games (even though it's not technically native Dolby Atmos but using Tempest 3D audio) to output as similar experience on soundbar system? This question applies to backward compatible PS4 Games such as right now I am playing Mafia definitive edition. thank you for advise. Cheers!

Marcus

Salutations foundrymen! With the release of Star Wars outlaws on Switch two soon upon us, how do you speculate that they’ll make the game run on the much weaker console? The game already struggles image quality wise on the current generation consoles and even high-end PC has their fair share of image quality issues. I know it’s basically impossible that Ray reconstruction will be on the switch 2, but the image instability on the non-RTX DI mode on PC is quite glaring. With it on you get smearing artefacts for example sparks that fly across the screen and leave a trail behind them. Do you suspect that the switch two will just have bad image quality and people will just have to deal with it?

DyeHardX86

Afternoon gentlemen, according to hardware leaker extraordinaire Kepler_L2 on Twitter he surmised Xbox hardware using [mostly] off the shelf IP & Silicon (shared with AMD discrete GPUs) could release new SKU much faster than the 7/8 year cycle that we've seen historically. Do you think this is likely for both the XboxPC and Xbox Console form factors?

Someguyperson

That "Magnus" chip looks more like a PlayStation than an Xbox to me, simply by virtue that the GPU is essentially the same size as a PS5 GPU. If you're going for "the greatest leap in a console generation" you simply can't bolt on a GPU that's the same size as the previous generation. I also can't help but notice the CPU & GPU die are separated which means you could have the same CPU & a different GPU if you wanted to go bigger (for the Xbox) or smaller (for a handheld).

1040STF

Should (and could?) Microsoft release their next console on May 26th 2026 and watch the world burn?

GeekyDud

Good day foundry men! Am I the only one baffled by the announcement of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero on the Switch 1? I realize I'm asking for pure conjecture here, but how big do you think the cutbacks will have to be to get it to run, and do you think it at all stands a chance of hitting a somewhat stable 30fps? Thanks and keep on foundering!

Full House's John SteamOS

The new Star Wars Outlaws footage for Switch 2 (during the latest Nintendo Direct) looks far more Switch-2-like, no? Those cutscenes look like they're hitting about 20fps or less. Granted it could be WIP and unoptimised, but the lighting is looking a lot more rudimentary.

Skyrimfest 26 FPS Edition

AI gave us DLSS for 'free' resolution, frame gen for 'free' frames and now neural textures for 'free' VRAM. What does the DF team think might be next in Nvidia's (or other's) sights to get the AI treatment? My money is on lighting - seems to me AI might be able to fake path-tracing pretty well? Also I know we might not always like 'fake' frames, resolution or VRAM, but last time I checked it's all fake really.

BespokeEP

I think they watched Cerny's ASMR talk for the "Road to PS5" and realized that fast and narrow is better than slower and wide. Magus is also a chiplet design for some strange reason but I guess it allows them to use the exact PC chiplet for the GPU and either a custom CPU chiplet or another PC component. I doubt the next Xbox will have much in terms of custom or it could lose compatibility with playing Steam versions of games. The PS6 is infinitely more exciting

BespokeEP

Hello scrumptious tech lords. Can we please get a "DF Supporters Club" Football Kit in the store with a popable collar to help us defend against the not so scrumptious SHADER COMPILATION STU...STU...STUTTER!!! Cheers

Mr Bespoke

Hi DF Crew! Now that the sales result of PlayStation store are in and Xbox games are dominating said PS Store, do you think or recon if it will be vice versa when the PlayStation 5 games hit the Xbox store in the near future? Thanks and keep up the Awesome work!!

Julian Shniter

Do you think (or know) if the next gen consoles will use an X3D type of CPU, meaning tons of that type of cache. i would kind of hope so given they are the CPUs geared for gaming

Scott Posilkin

Hi DF fellows. Any thoughts on how the most recent versions of the tariffs will impact retail PC component prices ? Hard to navigate for your average consumer trying to make a choice as when to upgrade. Could this possibly impact console prices or even the rumored $100 GTA given increase costs / the excuse of tariffs to hide behind ?

Rostislav Ulbricht

Fair greetings to you, good sirs! I am curious what is your opinion on Lossless Scaling utility that recently gained popularity on Steam. Is it comparable to other upscaling/framegen tech or still needs time to mature? I certainly find it useful, it provides a great boost for a bit older GPU, even Steam deck and has really good settings options

Someguyperson

As Rich loves to point out, you can scale graphics a lot easier than you can scale things on the CPU. If Sony wants a handheld and a regular PS6 to play the same games, it makes sense to have a common CPU chiplet and different GPU chiplets for each platform. That way you can just target a different resolution and be 80% of the way there to a handheld port of a game. Sony also mentioned that their "Project Amethyst" work with AMD in non-exclusive, so Microsoft can utilize everything Sony develops under that effort, which might include the work to create "Magnus", but none of that is public knowledge.

Jordan Andow

Hello My DF Lords! I've been watching a long-time, but this is my first time writing in. Firstly, I wanted to say thank you for all your amazing content over the years, I often reference and link to it in my reviews when appropriate. If you ever need someone to take a look at accessibility settings in games or just come on and talk about them let me know. I'm an acquaintance of Will, so I'm sure he'd confirm I'm not a crazy person. Now for the question, I'm upgrading to a 5090 founders edition from a 4090 founders. Is there anything I should be particularly aware (issues) and further more which games might I expect to see the biggest improvement in? For reference, the GPU will be paired with a I9-14900KF and 96GB of Corsair Vengeance 6000mhz RAM. Keep up the great work chaps!

Someguyperson

Nobody knows apart from AMD. However, I highly suspect that 3D V-Cache will be included in the next-gen consoles. Zen 5 is basically designed around having more cache and is bottlenecked in several areas if you don't have the extra cache. The cache die can be produced on an older process, which is extremely important to reduce costs, as the newer process nodes are only getting more expensive. The fact that AMD can put the cache underneath the CPU and the fact that backside power delivery is coming soon, all points to the new consoles to use 3D V-Cache.

Kyrith

Hello, DF shadow government! Donkey Kong is now a series of free-roam worlds, 3D Mario is too, Zelda is one giant non-linear open world, Pokemon has two open world series, and even Mario Kart is built around a giant open world. Will there be any blockbuster Nintendo first party series left in a non-open world format by the end of this generation? Or are we destined for Splatoon 4: Planetside and Super Smash Bros: Castlevania?

Someguyperson

Salutations Rich! How's the Internet over the the UK this week? I heard that everything is fine and that absolutely no one is desperately using a VPN to get out of the country.

ShyLink

Hello gents, I recently watched Iceberg Lore's video "Everybody* Hates Ray Tracing" and was reminded of a previous Direct in which you discussed some gamers' frustration with "forced" ray tracing. As an impoverished console gamer that only follows advances in PC graphics technology as something of a spectator sport, I'm curious: did any previous then-new technology (such as pixel shaders, etc) have such a high performance penalty relative to its (subjective) benefits in the eyes of the average player?

Yotsuya

Salutations and commendations oh lords of silicon. May I ask what John thinks of Yuzo Koshiro's newly released hard as the proverbial nails MegaDrive shooter Earthion, and does it prove that blast processing is alive and well in the year of our lord 2025?

AfreemTheDream

Greetings, Foundrymen! Do you chaps see the Switch Deuce gaining more performance over time via increased clock speeds and further optimization of the "Made for Switch" DLSS? After playing DK: Bananza I'm already begging for MOAR POWR! Cheers!

Spodlude

Hello Dee-eff-rs, that partner direct was like a buffet of Mongolian yurt food for me, in that as an uncultured englishman it left me feeling quite unwell. Do you think a bigger Direct is coming in August/September. I really want to hear what Nintendo have in store for us, what Microsoft might do on switch (Halo!?), and Sony for that matter! Gamescom announcements perhaps? Might that Geoff guy have something in store for us, when's his next gig? What are your predictions for the real big NOICE games for the next 12-18 months of switch 2 and when might we hear more about them? The only way Another HD-2D square game with a project title as its final name will make money leave my wallet is as I die from boredom whilst holding my wallet watching the trailer and the rigor mortis forces open my bored dead hands. Thanks lads!

Someguyperson

Hey DF, why do people keep saying that "We don't need any more graphical improvements." or "They don't need to improve the graphics at all because they look like real life already." Are people ignorant of what real life looks like? Are people just not very observant? Do more people just need to watch DF?

Someguyperson

I'm pretty sure Nintendo's strategy here is to only focus on 1 or 2 first party titles at a time to try and get everyone to buy each one, thinking that there won't be many first party titles in the first year. But, if you pay close attention, Nintendo is releasing a huge first party title at least every other month. Mario Kart, DK, Kirby Air Ride 2, Metroid Prime, Pokemon Legends, and I'm sure there's more to come. Next year when we look back at what came out in the launch year, I think everyone will be surprised by how good it will be.

Snorlax cat

Nintendo camera bonfire WEN

FalconPunch

Hey DF team! Would it be feasible to evaluate the quality of the HDR implementation in games on MacBooks built-in displays compared to HDR on Windows and Consoles using high-end monitors/TVs? It’d be interesting to see the difference in games like Control, Resident Evil, Cyberpunk, Death Stranding, Tomb Raider, etc. Also, are the relatively high response times of Apple's mini-LED displays noticeably distracting for gaming in general? Thanks for your work!

tod weitzel

There's a lot of talk about the PS5 power saving mode being effectively a new performance profile. Do you think it's intended to replace PS4 backwards compatibility as the "forever platform" for non-demanding indie games, retro collections, and the like?

Jonathan Hamilton

Does John have any cable-draping tips for the Switch 2? With ports in two different positions, an expert must see potential.

goregutz

Greetings, citizens of the mortal world. I am an esteemed aristocrat from the Republic of Gamers (ROG). Me and other fellow citizens of the republic have been deeply offended by Rich and his underlings not pronouncing the glorious name of our republic in a sufficiently deep voice. It causes us great pain and dishonour to be referred to in such a callous tone. As atonement, I would demand Rich and his underlings to publicly apologise and practice the deep voice which behoves the lofty name of our our republic until you have perfected it. If you still cannot master the art of the deep voice, please use a deep voice filter to at least fiegn respect. And if you cannot do any of these options, please refrain from ever uttering the glorious name of our republic ever again Long live ROOOOOOG Sincerely, Rogus Asusus Gamerus Caesar

Helvetica Bold

Hello Gents! I would like to hear your thoughts on Battlefield 6 since the multiplayer has been revealed. It appears Frostbite especially destruction has been massively upgraded.

BespokeEP

I don't think this PS6 handheld is what people are expecting.. I don't think the tech is there yet, though I would love to be wrong. I don't think there is any way Sony makes PS6 feel like a generational leap unless the handheld only plays PS5 and prior natively, and does PS6 via cloud and remote play. I think a possible reason for the rumoured delay to 2029 could be because that is when Wi-Fi 8 releases, which won't truly benefit anyone right away, but 2-3 years into the gen most gamers will be on wifi7 or 8 and you will be glad you have it (the spec looks insane if you haven't seen it) I also imagine Sony has been advancing the PS Link tech to basically have zero input latency and will likely have some sort of integration with the Wifi-8 to offer the greatest remote play experience ever even if you don't have a Wifi-8 router. The lead up to a new generation is always the most exciting time lol. I just pray that Horizon 3 and Spider-Man3 end up being PS6 exclusives, Don't get me wrong, I love my Johnny 5 Professional, but I want a fully Path traced Horizon with the craziest amount of destructibility in the environment. I would even be there day 1 if they remake ZD and FW. Never understood the hate, for a remaster once in 8 years when Skyrim has been remastered 3x in 10 years, GTA5, 2x in 9 lol

Octolimar

Greetings and salutations. Given that the switch 2 has plenty of headroom to go around for back compat games, how feasible is it for nintendo to implement something akin to rtx hdr for switch 1 titles? It can be quite heavy on pc so I worry that the cut down capabilities of the t239 may not be enough to handle it in real time at 60fps. Thoughts?

BespokeEP

Likely the reason for what seems like a very modest increase in GPU size for Xbox. I imagine both the next Xbox and PS6 will be extremely cache and RAM heavy, especially PS6 based on what Cerny has spoken out about. I just wonder if they have included the cache scrubbies in RDNA 5 or if Cerny is savings that sauce for PS6 only... You got to imagine he is going to save some of the best stuff for PS6 only or maybe include it in RDNA 6 and PS6 ends up with a hybrid RDNA 5/6. Since we know Xbox is just using desktop RDNA5

BespokeEP

What does your heart tell you?

DaJaCo (Dan)

people do go outdoors less than in decades past, and when they do, they dont often look up from their smartphone, so quite possibly..

DaJaCo (Dan)

Its looking like PS6 will be AMD Orion, and PSP-new will be AMD Canis (i.e. canis major, orion's dog star constellation).

Alan

Hi Guys, That Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase was lame, the drought continues! No first party games other than Metroid Prime 4 (likely coming in 2026) and a couple of third party games, what are Nintendo doing?

DaJaCo (Dan)

Happy Half-Fortnight LADS! So with the Partner Showcase - Do we have our first (switch 2) non-Fortnite UE5 game in Cronos, that also has a "chronologically synchronised" release date with other platforms!? Also - are you all looking forward to just "chillin by the fire" instead of the blast furnace; because it's sure to be a more comfortable temperature, and looks to be entirely Digital? It looks like it was specially designed for digital foundry team meetings! P.S. I wonder if you can throw flaming digital logs at each other?

Someguyperson

I can easily see the PS6 targeting a native 1080p-1440p with upscaling to 4k, while the handheld will do a very Switch-like 540p-720p up to a potential 1080p, so if you really cut down the PS6 GPU, you could have some feature pairity there. I will concede that PS5-like performance is almost definitely what the handheld will actually provide though. As far as the streaming goes, everyone at the whim of their ISP, which is the crux of the issue. It doesn't matter how much better your WiFi router gets unless the server is hosted on your LAN. The issue is your ISP and how they manage traffic, which is pretty poorly to the point that game streaming isn't what everyone ultimately wants. I think local streaming is extremely viable and playing PS6 games on your LAN via your PSP-like handheld is absolutely a key consideration for the PS6 design.

Someguyperson

What are you talking about? Mario Kart World and DK Banannza have already come out, while Kirby's Air Riders, Pokemon Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4 are all coming out this year. They haven't fully announced everything that's coming out this year yet. They aren't listing everything out in one go to keep the marketing push & focus on one game at a time (smartly so).

Someguyperson

I need to have some performance data on how many logs I can throw onto the fire while maintaining 60 FPS. It is a Switch 2 exclusive, so it has to be fully maxing the system out, right?

WoundedBum

Could we possibly have DF special live stream in which you play a round of Peak? Alex could throw coconuts at you all for making him talk so much about the Switch 2.

DaJaCo (Dan)

It wouldnt be performance data, it'd be a performance log.

Minion

Hello. This questions for John. Are there still any plans to do a video or DF Weekly segment on your experience of using the 5090 laptop while you were on vacation?

DaJaCo (Dan)

Be an ideal port in many ways, but the playstation branding is so strong it seems unlikely.

BespokeEP

Wi-Fi 8's improvements aren't speed, it's stability and consistency. They are projecting that it will basically feel like you are hard wired. Also since Sony basically initiated this idea of 40fps modes, I imagine most AAA games will be 40fps on the handheld with indie titles likely hitting 120fps and AA hitting 60. Also if a game becomes too much for it, you do what switch does and you say cloud or remote play only. As long as they don't promise everything will be native, they are fine. Though I've still never seen an Xbox fan boy get angry at Xbox for promising no 30fps this gen and equal performance to SeriesX on SeriesS, just at 1440p lol

Someguyperson

WiFi 8 isn't a magic bullet there. It can only improve the connection between your end device and your WAN connection, which isn't really the issue today. The main issue is that after your request gets sent out to your ISP, anything can happen. Huge increases to latency, jitter, and packet error rate can easily happen at your ISP, particularly when overall traffic is high and if you don't live right next to a data center that's actually hosting your game. Most people have a bad 25/10 Mbps connection anyways, which simply isn't good enough when multiple people are using the same connection.

Alan

That is two games, that is all since launch! I don't think Metroid Prime 4 will be released this year and Pokemon Z-A is just another Pokemon game. They are not listing everything because I don't think they have much to announce, I am not the only one that said the Direct was very disappointing.

Jiminy the 26th

Did any of you Guys look at the deep dive for Ghost of Yotei? I feel like it would be worth it since the trailer content shown prior was very conservative. Thanks

Natiq İsmayılzadə

Greetings from Baku! Do you think artificial intelligence will one day be used for game porting? For example, if we give AI all the information about a PS4 game and the device, can it port the game?