Black Myth: Wukong, Ryzen 9000 & Switch 2 Rumors

Overview of Latest Tech News

This edition of DF Direct Weekly covers a packed agenda, ranging from highly anticipated gaming hardware and software to industry shifts in the CPU and console space.

Black Myth: Wukong Performance Analysis

• The team examines the Black Myth: Wukong PC benchmark tool, discussing its utility as a performance baseline despite the lack of public PlayStation 5 footage.
• John highlights performance expectations for the game, noting potential issues with Unreal Engine shader compilation and the performance trade-offs between FSR and TSR upscaling technologies.
• Concerns are raised about the lack of pre-launch console previews, though early indications suggest the game's workload is manageable for modern hardware if optimized correctly.

Ryzen 9000 and Zen 5 Launch Issues

• Will reports on the lukewarm reception of the new Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X processors, which have failed to consistently outperform their predecessors in gaming.
• Investigations into high CCD-to-CCD latency and core parking behaviors suggest that the architecture requires specific software and potential microcode updates to achieve expected performance levels.

"Something must be wrong with my setup here. Maybe I don't have the right driver installed. Maybe there's a bug."

Industry Trends and Future Hardware

• Reports suggest Nintendo is delaying the Switch 2 until at least April 2025 to align software launches, which is seen as a prudent decision for the platform's longevity.
• The panel discusses the rumor of SteamOS possibly expanding to Windows-based handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally, with the team expressing enthusiasm for a more console-like experience on top-tier mobile PC hardware.
• The acquisition of Tango Gameworks by Krafton is celebrated as a significant victory for the studio, preserving talent and the Hi-Fi Rush IP.