Xbox Restructuring, Silent Hill Townfall and Next-Gen Specs

Xbox restructuring and the future of its studios

The hosts discuss Microsoft's second phase of its “Xbox reset,” including reported studio and franchise changes. Halo is moving under Activision, with a new team set to make its next game, while Halo Studios is described as a smaller group supporting existing community and multiplayer work. The discussion also covers Rare and World's Edge moving under Activision, Obsidian under Bethesda, Microsoft Casual Games under King, and reports of Turn 10 and Playground Games combining.

• Oliver McKenzie and Tom Morgan express concern for employees affected by layoffs and for staff morale. They consider whether consolidating franchises could help Microsoft deliver games more consistently, while questioning whether a large-publisher strategy fits with Xbox's role as a gaming platform.
• The hosts discuss uncertainty around Halo's next projects and the possibility that Microsoft is prioritising established franchises. They also mention reports that Ninja Theory could close after two buyer deals fell through, and that Undead Labs is no longer part of Xbox Studios, while State of Decay 3 is still expected and described as a Game Pass day-one title.
• They examine a report about Xbox's future and Microsoft's public response to claims about Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders on Xbox. Microsoft said pre-orders were in line with the current console split; the hosts discuss what that response does and does not clarify.

Silent Hill Townfall performance and presentation

The hosts share impressions of Silent Hill Townfall on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro and PC. They praise its visual style, atmosphere, lighting and use of hardware Lumen, while discussing image quality and performance across the versions.

• On PlayStation, they compare quality and performance modes, including resolution and PSSR on PS5 Pro. They note image instability and some performance drops, and say the game could use patches.
• On PC, they describe strong frame rates on their test systems but criticise shader-compilation and traversal stutter, including stutters around cutscenes. They discuss the lack of frame generation options in the menu and say the PC version's technical issues disrupt the game's immersion.

Rumoured next-generation Xbox and PlayStation hardware

The discussion turns to leaked performance figures for Project Helix and the expected PlayStation 6. The hosts stress that teraflop figures are rumours and do not directly predict game performance, particularly across different architectures.

• They consider reported differences in GPU compute, memory bandwidth, ROPs, cache and CPU configuration, while noting that ray tracing and machine-learning capabilities will also matter.
• The hosts debate whether Helix's reported additional power would make a noticeable difference in games, especially if it is also positioned as a PC-like platform that lets users adjust settings. They conclude that shipping hardware and games are needed before drawing firm conclusions.

007 First Light path-tracing update and graphics-card prices

The final topic is a new patch for 007 First Light. The hosts report that path tracing now performs much better on an RTX 5070 and RTX 5080 than in their earlier testing, with improved image quality and more usable frame rates. They also discuss latency behaviour with frame generation and the absence of a Reflex control in the game's menus.

• Oliver McKenzie says the earlier rollout may have left a negative first impression, while the updated performance is closer to what he expects from a demanding ray-traced PC game.
• The conversation ends with the rising price of RTX 5090 cards. The hosts suggest professional and local AI use may be contributing to demand, while noting that their explanation is a supposition and that high-end card prices vary.