u/Loose_Society9485

During a recent Digital Foundry Q+A show, Rich answered questions about whether Sony’s QSSR upscaling technology is available in older versions of the PS5 SDK.

He added that he had “heard over the weekend” that retrofitting the technology into older games could present challenges, potentially requiring developers to update their games to newer SDK versions.

“I did hear over the weekend that there might be a bit of a challenge for older titles.”

Rich starts talking about this around 19:55: https://youtu.be/UsFBZjdrh8Q?si=X009fThdY5ONGl44

I tried to summarise the article.

According to Jez Corden, Xbox plans to invest more heavily in Battle.net as a PC platform, with Asha Sharma saying its user retention is “nearly as good as Steam’s retention.”

Sharma said Microsoft wants to support Battle.net “the right way” for its existing community while bringing more first-party and select third-party games to the platform. The Witcher 3 is currently the first major third-party addition.

Microsoft also plans to simplify Xbox’s publishing tools and APIs to make it easier for developers to release and manage games across the Xbox ecosystem.

Sharma stressed that Xbox will continue investing in other PC storefronts, including Steam, as long as they reach distinct audiences.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/inside-microsofts-plan-to-boost-xbox-battle-net-on-pc-retention-nearly-as-good-as-steams-retention-with-more-games-more-support-and-improved-publisher-tools

According to Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, Ubisoft Milan previously pitched Nintendo on an original The Legend of Zelda spin-off codenamed Goliath.

The project would have featured a completely new protagonist, but Nintendo reportedly liked the concept and asked Ubisoft Milan to instead make the player character Ganondorf.

Ubisoft Milan worked on a prototype throughout 2023, but Nintendo reportedly rejected it in November 2023, with the reasons remaining unclear. The project was subsequently cancelled and the team was split across other Ubisoft projects.

Henderson says the report is based on more than 18 months of research for his forthcoming book about cancelled games and that he independently corroborated enough information about Goliath to publish the story.

Source: https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-nintendo-canceled-zelda-title/

According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, the next Halo game that was being developed under Halo Studios was still years away from release.

Warren reports that Microsoft ultimately pulled the plug on the project instead of moving the existing Halo Studios team under Activision. Activision will now develop the next Halo title with a new, purpose-built team.

A source told Warren that the cancelled Halo project was years away from shipping, following years of layoffs, leadership changes and technical shifts at Halo Studios.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/999919/microsoft-xbox-reorganization-activision-notepad

According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Alan Ritchson is in talks to star in Sony’s live-action adaptation of Helldivers, following Jason Momoa’s departure from the project earlier this year.

Justin Lin is directing the film, which is currently scheduled for release on November 10, 2027.

The Helldivers movie comes from Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions and is based on Arrowhead Game Studios’ franchise.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alan-ritchson-replaces-jason-momoa-helldivers-movie-1236705311/

According to GameGPU, citing insider KeplerL2, Sony’s rumored next-generation handheld, Project Canis (PSP 3), will reportedly feature a custom 3nm AMD SoC with:

• 4× Zen 6c + 2× Zen 6 LP CPU cores
• 16× RDNA 5 Compute Units
• 24GB LPDDR5X memory on a 192-bit bus
• 15–25W TDP

The GPU is reportedly clocked at 1.2GHz in handheld mode, delivering around 4.91 TFLOPS, while docked mode could increase the clock to 1.65GHz and around 6.75 TFLOPS.

The leak also claims Project Canis will feature PSSR 3.0, with demanding games potentially rendering internally around 540p before being reconstructed to 1080p. Frame rates are reportedly expected to range from 30–60 FPS, with frame generation potentially providing additional smoothness.

KeplerL2 also reportedly claims the handheld will be capable of running PS4 and PS5 games locally, with support for future PlayStation titles potentially following later.

Edit: many people are discussing the price tag in the comments, so it’s worth mentioning Kepler said weeks ago that “$600 is definitely not possible right now”.

Source: https://en.gamegpu.com/news/zhelezo/psp-3-handheld-vyjdet-na-14-tflops-s-pssr-3-0-protiv-16-7-tflops-u-ps5-pro

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/wario64.bsky.social/post/3muzadaf33s2a

Previous leak: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/8so6C7OyMr

Digital Foundry has discussed the speculation that the PS5’s recently introduced Eco Mode was designed as preparation for Sony’s rumored PlayStation handheld.

During the latest DF Direct Q&A, Rich said:

”Our sources are kinda suggesting that they are doing different things and shouldn’t be confused for one another.”

Rich also described the Eco Mode as an “EU friendly move.”

John Linneman added that the feature was originally intended as “a media mode or something” and was not originally architected specifically for the rumored handheld.

“It may have some utility possibly but I don’t think that was the point of it originally.”

Rich starts talking about it at around 13:20.

Source: https://youtu.be/NHTMBTW8lyI?si=ynOMumh_hvoBQbCJ

Jason Schreier discussed the situation surrounding the recent GTA 6 leaks and provided some insight into how they are affecting Rockstar internally:

• Following the 2022 Rockstar hack, the company implemented a policy in early 2024 requiring employees to work from the office five days a week, which caused frustration among some staff.
• Rockstar also restricted access to internal work tools from remote locations, meaning employees could only access them from the office as part of the company’s tightened security measures.
• Some employees are reportedly frustrated that they went through these significant security changes only for another major leak to happen anyway.
• Morale inside Rockstar is reportedly down following the leak.
• Communication from management has reportedly been limited. One senior executive sent an email condemning the leaker, while also trying to reassure employees that players will remain excited to see the work the team has been creating.
• Netflix is frustrated by the situation as well.
• Schreier mentioned that GTA 6 is not finished. Development is continuing, and Rockstar employees are expected to keep working on the game right up until its release.

I tried to summarise the points that were not posted in this sub, if i have missed something please let me know!

Source: https://youtu.be/CUfPmn-kPXs?si=eSV5x0dONG0_xfRN

According to Jason Schreier, Bungie had five or six different projects in development around the time of Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition, alongside Destiny 2 and Marathon.

Schreier says Sony was interested in Bungie partly because of this broader portfolio of live-service projects and wanted to see them released in the years following the acquisition.

However, “for a variety of reasons,” most of those projects eventually fell apart, with only some making it through development.

Jason said he will get into the story further down the road.

He starts talking about it around 13:38: https://youtu.be/ZMUJT64WDWI?si=fIcACMrEjUHkqzpL

According to Nikkei, one of Japan’s biggest business newspapers, Sony Group is launching an initiative to develop distinctive character IP that can be used across games, anime, movies, merchandise and other forms of entertainment.

Sony Creative Products (SCP) has established a dedicated team for the initiative, with Sony reportedly targeting ¥10 billion in sales from new IP by FY2030.

Nikkei highlights Sony’s lack of globally recognisable original characters compared with companies such as Nintendo and Sega, as well as Sanrio’s success with characters like Hello Kitty.

Sony reportedly sees its lack of newer game-originated characters as an issue, with franchises such as Ape Escape and PaRappa among the examples, while neither has received a new entry in more than a decade.

Source: https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC217NH0R20C26A7000000/

According to Kotaku, nine developers working on CD Projekt Red’s Project Sirius were laid off today, while another nine are being moved to other projects within the studio as development undergoes another strategic shift.

Project Sirius, a single-player and cooperative multiplayer Witcher game developed by The Molasses Flood, was first revealed in 2022 before being rebooted in 2023, resulting in 29 layoffs at the time.

Kotaku reports that the project had been progressing relatively well recently following changes made this spring. CDPR also recently hired Destiny 2 writer Kwan Perng as a lead writer on the project.

Source: https://kotaku.com/witcher-multiplayer-project-suffers-another-round-of-layoffs-2000723777

According to Bloomberg’s Liana Baker, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is considering withdrawing his $56 billion bid to acquire eBay.

Instead, Cohen is reportedly considering proposing a partnership or joint venture that would allow eBay to leverage GameStop’s roughly 1,600 U.S. retail locations.

GameStop would seek representation on eBay’s board as part of any potential partnership.

No final decision has been made, with Cohen still weighing his options.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-10/gamestop-s-ryan-cohen-weighs-pulling-56-billion-ebay-offer?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter