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The Verge
07-08-2025
- The Verge
Digital Foundry, the most trusted name in game console analysis, is going independent
Over the past decade and a half, Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has become the most knowledgeable and trustworthy place to find out just how powerful a new video game console might be, where the hottest new games run the best, and why they sometimes don't! Even Sony and Microsoft often favor DF for exclusive access to technical details. But as of today, Digital Foundry is no longer a Eurogamer sub-brand, and it's no longer controlled by IGN. DF's founder has purchased the publication and its complete archives, and a team of five is taking it completely independent. Like Giant Bomb, or the former Kotaku writers who created Aftermath, it's the latest example of video game journalists finding a path that's different from corporate ownership. 'We answer to nobody but you, the audience,' DF now says, as part of a new podcast episode explaining the change. Buying Digital Foundry wasn't much of an uphill battle, to hear editor and founder Richard Leadbetter tell it, partly because he only had to buy 25 percent. Leadbetter had been holding onto 50 percent of its shares since 2015, when he originally sold his other half to Eurogamer to help fund DF's popular YouTube channel. Eurogamer's parent company Gamer Network obtained that half, which then got acquired by ReedPop, before making its way to IGN when parent company Ziff Davis purchased Gamer Network in turn, each time postponing Leadbetter's own attempts to buy the rest of his company. Then, this year, IGN suddenly offered to sell its half back: 25 percent to Leadbetter and 25 percent to investor Rupert Loman, who originally founded Eurogamer in 1999 with his brother Nick. Even 25 percent of the company wasn't cheap: 'I think this is pretty much easily the biggest thing I've ever bought, more than my house,' Leadbetter says. Thankfully, Digital Foundry doesn't need to worry about building an audience from scratch to pay its journalists. It's already profitable all on its own, Leadbetter tells The Verge — with an established audience of paying subscribers on Patreon, whose website estimates it pulls in roughly $200,000 a year, and a YouTube channel with nearly 1.5 million subscribers. But DF wants to build on that profitability, Leadbetter says, and he thinks the team can do that better without corporate ownership. He explains that the previous relationship where he owned half, and IGN or Gamer Network owned half, meant that all new investments had to be agreed upon by two parties with different priorities. 'When you're part of a large corporate entity, that spirit of innovation kind of gives way to the hard numbers,' he says. (Leadbetter won't tell me if he ran into any particular difficulties with IGN, but we know that Ziff Davis recently cut workers in back-to-back layoffs, and IGN was one of the affected Ziff Davis brands. The decision doesn't seem to have anything to do with the time a full-length Nintendo ad was placed on DF's YouTube channel without initially being labeled as an ad; 'The guy who presses the button on YouTube is not IGN, it's me,' Leadbetter says, calling it an error that won't happen again.) So, what does DF plan to build? One thing the team doesn't have anymore is a proper place for its written words to go. While DF does own Leadbetter says it's currently just a portal to direct people to its videos. He says DF wants to 'figure out the business case' to justify creating a larger site. The dream is to take nearly two decades of archived Digital Foundry content and turn it into something new, something that'll additionally make DF's findings more accessible to a wider audience like many news sites (shameless plug) try to do. The team would also like to launch a retro games podcast, something DF's John Linneman says would have been difficult under corporate owners; do more game developer interviews; and try to hire an additional editor to beef up PC coverage if funds allow. Leadbetter, Linneman, and colleague Alex Battaglia don't sound like they're planning to change the formula much, though. DF plans to stick to PC gaming, retro gaming, and console performance analysis as its 'three pillars' and doesn't plan to chase SEO. Much of this is just about controlling DF's own destiny, taking control of everything from hiring to sponsorships, ad sales, and merch. Nor should you expect to see Digital Foundry move to a subscription-only model. Leadbetter plans to keep the vast majority of content free, the same as it is now, and you shouldn't even notice a difference on its YouTube channel, where DF plans to deliver the same number of videos without interruption. 'If we do a website, it'll be a public-facing website without any sort of pay-gating,' Leadbetter says. 'There's always been smaller subscriber bonuses, but ultimately the pitch we're making is to support us. If you love what we do, please support the team, it really does make a huge amount of difference.' Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Sean Hollister Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All PC Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. 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Digital Trends
03-08-2025
- Digital Trends
Is Battlefield 6 cross-platform?
Every online multiplayer shooter these days needs to have cross-platform support to stand a chance, but Battlefield 6 might as well be dead on arrival without this functionality. This is because, unlike games like Borderlands 4 or Gears of War: Reloaded, multiplayer matches in Battlefield 6 will feature 64-player warzones. That's a huge lobby to fill if the game is only matching you with other players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC. Before you pick your class and prepare to experience the destructive multiplayer waiting in Battlefield 6, I'll give you the sitrep on its cross-platform support. Is Battlefield 6 cross-platform? First reported by Eurogamer, it is confirmed that Battlefield 6 will feature full crossplay support on all platforms. Unlike the last entry, Battlefield 2042, this game will not be available on last-gen systems. That means crossplay will let you squad up with friends across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. For those who wish to only play with others on their specific platform, the option to disable crossplay will be available. Sadly, it was also confirmed that Battlefield 6 won't be coming to the Switch 2. Recommended Videos As far as why Battlefield 6 will be skipping the Switch 2, Vince Zampella stated that the core Battlefield fanbase is on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Battlefield 6 will also have full cross-progression support. This means players will be able to take all their progress, including skins, ranks, guns, levels, and more, from one platform to another. You will still need to purchase the game on additional platforms, but at least you won't have to start the grind over if you do want to play on two platforms. With nine maps at launch and a return to the classic class-based structure, cross-platform support was the last missing piece Battlefield 6 needed to set itself up for success when it launches on October 10, but you can get a taste of the action early by playing the beta test in August if it isn't too late.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Yahoo
Fresh from telling laid-off employees to console themselves with AI, Microsoft doubles down by advertising Xbox jobs with pathetic AI image: 'So tone deaf I hope it is satire'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The rollicking clown car that is Microsoft corporate leadership has outdone itself once again. Earlier this month Phil Spencer said Microsoft's gaming business has "never looked stronger" as he announced mass layoffs, which was swiftly followed up by an Xbox exec suggesting that affected employees use AI to console themselves. And now? A round of slow claps for Xbox's principle development lead Mike Matsel, another victim of terminal LinkedIn brain, who took to the social networking site this past weekend to announce some good news: we're hiring! Except… The post comes with an image that is clearly AI-generated (first spotted by Eurogamer). It shows a cartoon image of a woman smiling and wearing headphones in front of a PC: but look closer and you'll notice that this PC is very special, because the display is on the back of the monitor. Then you notice her eyes aren't on the front of the monitor either (I guess there's not much to see), and she's just staring gormlessly over the top and into the distance. The more you look the worse it gets: the shading on her top is all sorts of wrong; the keyboard just seems to have randomly shaped blocks rather than resembling a keyboard; there's a weird little divot between the thumb and index finger on the left hand. In other words, this is a classic AI-generated image, aka slop. The thing is, this is being posted by a senior figure at Xbox and is explicitly about hiring graphics designers. You'd think that might earn a bespoke visual for any hiring push. Tempting as it may be to dunk on Matsel, the guy also may be trying to keep his own job: Microsoft has said "AI is no longer optional" for its staff, and employees are being evaluated on how they use these tools. The first reply to the post is, appropriately enough, a poop emoji. "This is so tone deaf that I hope that it is satire," replies Kevin Catarino. "Does everyone left at Xbox have brain damage," wonders Rick Desilets. "Are you seriously posting a job ad for Xbox Graphics using this AI garbage? It looks like shit, man, what is happening over there?" "AI is a billion dollar industry, a lot of money and resources have been poured into this, and this is the result of it," says Joseph M. "My god, I don't believe in AI and I never will. It's not worth the hype or money. You could have just hired someone for cheap looking for help with their portfolio to do a much better job than this." Microsoft's latest cuts were a real bloodbath, with studios like The Initiative closed and several high-profile Xbox exclusives cancelled, including Rare's Everwild, an unannounced Zenimax MMO, and the excellent-looking Perfect Dark reboot. Since the start of 2023, Microsoft has fired over 20,000 people. It's also announced that it plans to spend $80 billion on AI this year. Well: I hope you all like hot garbage. Because right now, that's sure looking like the future of Xbox. Solve the daily Crossword
