First it was the PlayStation 4 that we couldn’t stop hearing about, but now it appears that from April onward all eyes will be the next-gen Xbox, codenamed Durango.
Following controversial rumors of Durango being “always-on” – that is, requiring users to always be connected to the Internet – new rumors of the reveal date for the console have surfaced.
The leak originated from US tech reporter Paul Thurrott, who has earned credibility for his Microsoft leaks. Thurrott originally said that Microsoft was going to reveal the successor at an event this month, but that has now been pushed back.
The Verge has also helped to legitimize the rumor, citing that sources “familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans have revealed that the event will be at a small venue with a focus on providing the very first details on the next Xbox, codenamed Durango, and Microsoft’s plans for Xbox in 2013.”
“We understand this date is accurate,” reads the website. “This is the tentative date for a next-generation Xbox announcement, but Microsoft had originally planned an April 24th event.”
Other details that Thurrott mentioned include the price of the console as well as details of how the next system was a Windows 8 device that would use Blu-ray discs.
“Durango is going to be expensive; $500, $300 with a subscription – that kind of thing,” he said. “Originally, they were going to announce this thing on April 24. Now they’re going to announce it on May 21. We know there are events occurring this year where we’re going to learn more about Durango.”
“E3 is going to occur; Build is going to occur in San Francisco in June when they’re going to talk about the developer story – because it’s a Windows 8 device. It’s going to have the same, or basically the same, developer tools and developer APIs and all that kind of stuff.”
Thurrott also backed up the claims and rumors that the device would always be online, stating that “Going back and looking at some of the stuff I got a long time ago, it actually says ‘must be internet connected to use’ – that’s in the notes. That’s all I have, but it does say that.”
This news follows (former?) Microsoft employee Adam Orth’s tirade against those who were complaining about the likelihood of the next Xbox being always online. It’s hard to know if the delay of the reveal of the console was planned in advance and simply happened to coincide with Orth’s negative publicity or if the decision was at least partly made as the result of it.
On one last note, Thurrott also claimed that Microsoft would be releasing what is likely the final Xbox 360 console version, codenamed Stingray for $99.
Durango, or as it’s nicknamed, Xbox 720 is rumored to release this November.
