Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

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 Sharma discusses a family of devices - amongst other things - in an interview with the BBC.

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0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:43 News 1: Sony releases disappointing State of Play
0:25:49 Supporter Q1: What does John think of the GTA 6 Extended Look?
0:41:59 Supporter Q2: Is Microsoft pivoting to a more mainstream “family” of next-gen Xboxes?
0:57:18 Supporter Q3: Will Microsoft regret their disc-to-digital program?
1:04:49 Supporter Q4: Will the PSP 3 actually be able to play PS5 games?
1:09:43 Supporter Q5: Should Nintendo implement a global frame-rate cap option for Switch 2?
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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 and Oliver compare notes on the difference it makes, the huge performance cost, what is achievable with mods and more.

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0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:27 What is DLSS 5?
0:15:36 DLSS 5 visuals in NBA 2K27
0:25:07 DLSS 5 performance in NBA 2K27
0:42:17 Mods: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
0:50:03 Mods: Forza Horizon 6, Monster Hunter Rise, Starfield
1:00:14 Concluding thoughts
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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 with some gaming and technology news, John delivers his own "best of" tour of Gamescom, discussing the titles he loved.

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0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:01 News 1: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered revealed
0:12:52 News 2: Xbox disc to digital program officially announced
0:23:18 Gamescom demos: Fable
0:30:46 Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
0:38:01 Capcom: Mega Man: Dual Override, Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen
0:46:51 Sega: Alien Isolation 2, Stranger than Heaven
0:54:48 Konami: Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Silent Hill: Townfall
1:10:20 State of Decay 3
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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 Special, Oliver and Rich share their thoughts and reactions to the presentation.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:24 Overall impressions
0:10:09 Performance: 30 FPS only
0:25:22 Lighting: shadowmaps, RT reflections, RTGI
0:37:31 Simulation and the open world
0:45:49 Image quality
0:50:57 Supporter Q1: How will next-gen consoles and PCs improve on the PS5 visuals?
0:56:55 Supporter Q2: Will PS5 Pro fix GTA 6’s image quality issues?
1:01:45 Supporter Q3: Will GTA 6 become a new highly contested PC benchmark?
1:04:56 Supporter Q4: How did the Netflix-only trailer launch go?
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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 hotly rumoured handheld with Sony pivoting in a Nintendo-like direction? If games hit photorealism, where does that leave Digital Foundry? And are plasma TVs the new CRT?

00:00 Introduction
01:21 Sponsored by MSI QD-OLED
02:42 Supporter Q1: Could the next-gen PSP and PS6 be the same thing?
14:26 Supporter Q2: Should PC games rename their graphics settings to constrain performance expectations?
22:27 Supporter Q3: If games become photorealistic, what will Digital Foundry do?
31:20 Supporter Q4: Are plasma TVs the new CRTs?
42:58 Supporter Q5: Will DF leave secret messages about upcoming hardware in DF Directs?
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