A meaty new episode of DF Direct Weekly kicks off with a Valve double-header - reaction to news that Steam Machine may be heading for PC pricing, plus news of Linux FSR 4 support via Proton... including old GPUs. Meanwhile, Angry Alex is back and he's measured just how bad Windows performance in AC Shadows is impacted by a rogue update. Red Dead Redemption 1 returns once again, Oliver has opinions on Horizon Steel Frontiers and let's just say that we really think you should check out Sektori.

Valve's reveal of the Steam Machine has proven phenomenally popular to the point where our coverage is by far and away the biggest DF video of the year. But there's more information emerging post-embargo we had to share, plus plenty of discussion points to wade through. How much will it cost? Does this really cause problems for Microsoft? What is the actual make-up of the Zen 4 CPU? And is a spec that's comparable with PlayStation 5 really the best that could be done over five years into this generation? Rich, Oliver and Alex convene once again to talk about the Valve initiative.

While the new Steam Machine PC/console hybrid has taken centrestage, it's not the only major hardware launch revealed by Valve today. Steam Frame is a state-of-the-art VR headset that not only streams games from your PC but can actually run them on the headset itself, with an x86 to ARM translation layer working in addition to Proton. Oliver's been hands-on and shares his impressions with John in this DF Direct Special.

It's the hardware we've been waiting for. Built on SteamOS, Valve's brand-new Steam Machine runs the same games that Steam Deck does, with 6x the graphics horsepower - all built into a super-cute, premium, cube-like design. Oliver visited Valve HQ to go hands-on with both the new PC/console hybrid and the new Steam Controller, reporting back with impressions, specs and insights from the engineers behind the project.

Aside from the monumental release of our brand new website, it was looking like a quiet week until the gigaton news that Grand Theft Auto 6 was delayed again quote-unquote dropped. The team discuss the implications in this week's Direct, before moving onto PS Portal cloud streaming impressions and the AMD marketing debacle that is the RDNA 1/2 driver situation. Silent Hill 2 is all but certain to arrive on Xbox, but what about Switch 2? Plus: kudos to Nintendo as it looks almost certain now that Switch 2 is the biggest console launch of all-time... within a three-month launch window at least!

At the time of uploading this video, it has been one year to the day since PlayStation 5 Pro was available to buy. In a DF Direct Special, John, Oliver and Tom compare notes on a massive range of Pro-enhanced titles, putting them into buckets: successful, good but not great and straight-out bad. And with that out of the way, it's time to talk about the overall effectiveness of the system in delivering an enhanced experience - plus thoughts and hopes for PS5 Pro: Year Two.

A gigantic new episode of DF Direct Weekly sees the team's reaction to the big Halo Campaign Evolved reveal - and some unfortunate Unreal Engine 5 issues already coming into view. Meanwhile, what does Microsoft actually mean by its "very premium, very high-end" next-gen comments and is the Xbox Ally X interface really the best way forward? Meanwhile, John and some familiar faces reveal our next big project - the DF Retro Super Show - our brand new video podcast. Beyond that, Rich talks PlayStation power saver with Death Stranding 1 and 2, while alarming stats are revealed about the decline of games journalism.

ROG Xbox Ally X is "in the house" and Rich describes his first couple of days in the review process. Alex answers the big question as to whether new PC games stutter more than older ones, while Oliver gets to grips with Black Myth Wukong's latest patch on PlayStation, complete with Lumen-free performance mode. Finally, next-gen Xbox and PlayStation spec leaks are gathering pace - so what do we make of them?

In this week's DF Direct, Microsoft deny rumours that its next-gen console has been cancelled - but to what extent are its statements credible in the wake of the infamous "four games" messaging? The existence of ports of Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 are confirmed by the most reliable leaker in the business, while John shares his impressions of Yooka-Replaylee. And to what extent did Nintendo underclock the SoC for Switch 2?

Could this be the foundational GPU technology for the PlayStation 6? Mark Cerny's latest Project Amethyst update describes the building blocks of future graphics technology, with a strong focus on ray tracing and machine learning capabilities, along with bandwidth-enhancing features designed to reduce the need on massive memory controllers. John, Rich and Oliver discuss the tech and share more information from Mark Cerny via an email Q&A conducted in the wake of the video's publication.

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.

Yes, it's another episode of DF Direct Weekly and yes, once again it's two hours of content discussing the latest gaming and technology news. Marvel's Wolverine, Saros, Flight Sim 2024 and Deus Ex Remastered cover off what we want to talk about from the latest Sony State of Play, while there's reaction to what was essentially the non-reveal of Forza Horizon 6. We catch up with the state of Silent Hill f on Xbox following the late arrival of review code and - finally - the last minute indefinite delay to the release of Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 had to be addressed.

In the latest exciting episode of DF Direct Weekly, Alex and Oliver share impressions on the PC and PS5 versions of Dying Light: The Beast in the wake of review code problems stopping us from delivering a full review. Meanwhile, the shocking news of an Intel/Nvidia partnership demands attention from the team, before Rich shares his experiences of testing the leaked FSR4 INT8 version on RDNA 3 hardware. There's eyebrow-raising disbelief around the Gearbox CEO's reactions to Borderlands 4 performance critiques, while pricing for the Strix Halo-equipped GPD Win 5 confirms that the most powerful handheld ever made will arrive with an elevated price-point to match.

In this week's gigantic DF Direct, Alex shares first impressions of Borderlands 4 PC performance, Oliver pops up for a guest appearance as the team summarise Nintendo's latest Direct, Rich enthuses about GeForce Now's new 5080 tier, while cloud coverage continues with a hands-on look at Microsoft xCloud's new 1440p streaming. Meanwhile, there's a cautious welcome for reports that PS6 will features a detachable, optional Blu-ray drive.

In the latest DF Direct, we finally get some idea of Switch 2's ray tracing capabilities via Star Wars Outlaws - and the team likes what they see. Meanwhile, details emerge of just how much slower Switch 2 carts are compared to internal storage and MicroSD Express - and it's a touch concerning. A reported storage downgrade for PlayStation 5 isn't exactly great news, and neither is the final death of Perfect Dark - but 007 First Night and Hollow Knight: Silksong have much to commend them.

In the latest DF Direct, Rich and Alex share their hands-on experiences of the Xbox/Asus ROG Ally X and non-X, while the team react to Epic's Tim Sweeney seemingly laying the blame on developers for sub-optimal Unreal Engine 5 games. Alex discusses a couple of his favourite SIGGRAPH graphics presentations. Finally, John's massively enthused by Shader Glass and is here to tell you why.

With Rich unable to escape infection at #gamescom2025, it's down to John and Alex to share their impressions from the show, with Oliver completing the panel. The team share their thoughts on the Switch 2 ports of Elden Ring and Final Fantasy 7 Remake in the wake of very negative and very positive reactions from the showfloor. Alex is optimistic about Microsoft's proposed fix for StutterStruggle, while intriguing specs emerge of what may well be a Valve home console. Beyond that, there's more Gamescom reaction, plus thoughts on Kirby Air Riders.

In the calm before the storm of Gamescom 2025, gaming and technology news is thin on the ground - and there's some degree of disappointment beyond the brilliance of the Battlefield 6 open beta. Drag x Drive on Switch 2 underwhelms, AMD releases an RX 9060 that you can't buy - and isn't really that much different to the 9060 XT. Light relief comes in the form of a monstrous modded RTX 4090 "handheld", while OneXPlayer's 120W Strix Halo tablet does - admittedly - look quite intriguing. Meanwhile, what would it take to get Tekken 8 running on Switch 2?

Many, many thanks for an amazingly positive reaction to our news that we've parted ways with IGN in favour of full independence! Rich spends some time talking about the reaction and answering Supporter questions on the changes, with actual gaming and technology news discussing nascent PS6 spec leaks, Apex Legends tested on Switch 2 and misconceptions on Sony's multi-platform plans. Meanwhile, Alex clues us in on AMD's Dense Geometry Format and excitement mounts on the news that Ashes of the Singularity is getting a sequel.

Amazing news! Digital Foundry has parted ways with IGN and we've bought their shareholding in the business. What this means is that from now on, all aspects of DF are decided upon by DF. We answer to nobody but you, the audience. We are fully independent, we’re proud of that, we think it’s the future of games media - but how far we push, how ambitious we want to be... well, that's where YOU come in. Rich, John and Alex discuss the news in this brand new episode of DF Direct.

A new, gigantic Direct sees John, Rich and Oliver mull over what might be next generation Xbox silicon, bringing together consumer CPU and GPU parts into custom APUs that could genuinely shake up the PC market. The team react to the excellent-looking Battlefield 6 reveal, while there's a mixed reception to the latest Nintendo Direct. Meanwhile, John raves about a brand new Genesis/Mega Drive game from an industry legend while Oliver and Rich are staggered at the concept of AMD's huge Strix Halo APU slated to appear in not one but two gaming handhelds.

The previously leaked PlayStation 5 Power Saving mode enters beta firmware, stoking rumours that it lays the groundwork for Sony's next generation portable. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077's VRR "no show" on Xbox Series X gets official comment from CD Projekt RED and the team are enthused by an amazing "Fallout Bakersfield" teaser trailer. Oblivion Remastered 1.2 on consoles is tested, and as expected, shows virtually no improvement. Moving on, the team are fascinated by 8K ray-traced balls and celebrations begin for Crytek's 25th anniversary.

The latest DF Direct Weekly sees Rich get to grips with Cyberpunk 2077's console VRR - putting our work-in-progress VRR capture tools to the test. Meanwhile, Alex checks out the ray traced ambient occlusion that's been added to Space Marine 2 and investigates odd reports of broken UE4 ray tracing on RDNA 4 graphics cards. John shares more on Donkey Kong Bananza and tells us all about Limited Run Games' amazing new Doom SNES cartridge with upgraded SuperFX technology, courtesy of development legend, Randy Linden.

This week, Oblivion Remastered's 1.2 patch "dropped" promising performance improvements - but are its systemic stuttering problems fixed? Alex takes a look at the PC version, both moving to an analysis of Nintendo's recently published "ray tracing" patents - which aren't quite what they seem. Meanwhile, Oliver gets to grips with the Wild Hearts demo on Switch 2 - and speaking of the Nintendo hybrid, comments from a Virtuos studio put Switch 2 system performance into context against Series S and PlayStation 4 - but how do those comments match up against our platform comparisons thus far?