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DF Direct Weekly #234 Is Now Available (Patreon)

Published:
2025-10-04 15:00:16
Edited:
2025-10-06 08:14:30
Imported:
2026-06

Content

The latest DF Direct is dominated by discussion of Microsoft's gigantic price hikes for Game Pass - proof positive that the previous prices were unsustainable, or a greedy cash grab from Xbox? And who exactly wants the new content added to the top-end tier? Meanwhile, the team share their thoughts on the new Austin Evans PS5 teardown video, while Rich reports on a brace of native Steam Deck ports: Baldur's Gate 3 and Cronos. The former shows big improvements, but there's confusion surrounding Cronos. Meanwhile, John's back with plenty of stories from his latest visit to Japan.

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Files

DF Direct Weekly #234: Huge Game Pass Price Hike Causes Outrage, New PS5 Teardown

Digital Foundry is now fully independent! Join the DF Supporter Program and support the team: https://bit.ly/3jEGjvx The latest DF Direct is dominated by discussion of Microsoft's gigantic price hikes for Game Pass - proof positive that the previous prices were unsustainable, or a greedy cash grab from Xbox? And who exactly wants the new content added to the top-end tier? Meanwhile, the team share their thoughts on the new Austin Evans PS5 teardown video, while Rich reports on a brace of native Steam Deck ports: Baldur's Gate 3 and Cronos. The former shows big improvements, but there's confusion surrounding Cronos. Meanwhile, John's back with plenty of stories from his latest visit to Japan. Go here to check out DF merch! https://store.digitalfoundry.net Subscribe for more Digital Foundry: http://bit.ly/DFSubscribe 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:27 News 1: Game Pass hit by massive price hikes 0:32:39 News 2: New PS5 Slim disassembled, examined 0:43:54 News 3: Native Steam Deck versions of Cronos, Baldur’s Gate 3 arrive 0:55:52 News 4: New DualSense reportedly features replaceable battery 1:02:14 News 5: John reports back from Japan 1:22:04 Supporter Q1: What do you think of the Panzer Dragoon Zwei remake? 1:30:12 Supporter Q2: Will the PlayStation handheld produce better visual results than Strix Halo handhelds? 1:36:32 Supporter Q3: What lessons can PC handhelds take from Switch 2 and its DLSS? 1:48:04 Supporter Q4: How do you think the PS6 will be initially received? 1:54:04 Supporter Q5: Do Wii games look good on a flatscreen with a typical remastering treatment? 1:58:41 Supporter Q6: What did everyone’s retro PC setups look like?

Comments

Hmmm.... Interesting

Anyone else having an issue with the videos? When I try, I get an error asking me to sign in (won't let me) to confirm I'm not a bot. I've signed out and back in but that didn't fix it

Filip

are you using VPN? 🤔

Hmmm.... Interesting

Thanks for the suggestion. Was using default Google VPN on pixel phone. Turned off and can now access the video.

CABBAC

Wahoo! My question was answered. Hopefully Rich has stopped crying after watching the video. 🤭

Evan

Would it be possible to stop using AC3 audio for future videos? Due to licensing restrictions, there are a lot a software and devices that don't support it. This includes most web browsers.

Dennis Martin Herbers

PC Game Pass, which includes all day 1 releases including Call of Duty, went from 12,99€ to 14,99€. It's an increase, but it's hardly the death of Xbox, and any speculation about whether this tier might go away at some point in the future is a bit too much on the speculative side tbh

Pavel Iakovenko

Where are the chapters for the YouTube video? :(

Pierce Clements

The ens#!7ification of another live service. Farewell XBGP. In Australia, XBGP Premium will now cost the equivalent of four to five AAA xbox/ps5 games per year. Without customer growth routinely outpacing customers leaving, the only thing left will be consistent gouging of those who remained and choose to pay more for less again and again over time.

digitalfoundry

If future Xbox hardware is effectively a hybrid PC, absolutely PC Game Pass is a pricing anomaly that will be corrected. Not sure why this would be a bit too much on the speculative side.

Optimized Prime

For at least a few hours yesterday, YouTube UI (on iOS and LG TV) didn't show chapters for this video, even though the timestamps were still in the description. It seems to be working correctly again now. Weird.

Pavel Iakovenko

There are there now. Thank you! But on the Patreon page the link to the video is not valid now, jfyi.

André

Why is the video not available anymore?

Mark

Hmmm, video works until I go to full screen, then stops. Can't get it working on full screen. Video does work otherwise.

Karl Wagner

The part about native Linux ports of Windows games is a good example of why Apple will never make an official Proton for end users, regardless of technical feasibility. The easiest thing for developers is just to use their Windows code, so almost all of them will stick with that (as they do for the steam deck). But they may be leaving a lot of performance and battery life on the floor by doing that, as well as not taking advantage of any custom features that exist on Apple’s own silicon or OS. For devices which occupy a premium market segment and are full of amazing first-party frameworks (seriously, go check what Apple’s built-in audio mixing libraries have been capable of for years!), that will never be acceptable as an officially sanctioned way of creating software.