Microsoft job listing suggests Skype support for Xbox 720

Microsoft is keeping quite mum about its next generation of home video game consoles, the Xbox 720. However, fans anticipating the system have been receiving both fascinating and absurd titbits of information about the latest console. The latest in this happens to be a job listing posted on the Microsoft site suggesting that the Xbox 720 may support Skype.

The job listing, which has since been changed to omit references to the next generation of the Xbox, describes an opening for a UI designer and prototyper at Microsoft’s Skype division in London for the next gen Xbox. The designer will apparently be responsible for helping in designing “an integrated Skype platform that’s pervasive within the Xbox console and ecosystem”.

The original job description, which can be found on French site xboxygen.com reads, “The team you’ll join is responsible for Skype in the living room (broadly the home), across various devices but with a focus on the large screen and the next generation of Xbox”

As per a report by vr-zone.com, the job requires previous experience with Flash, HTML and CSS, as well as previous work across multiple devices, including desktop, mobile, tablet, TV and consoles, while in-depth knowledge of the Xbox and other entertainment platforms is desirable. The applicant will report to the Head of Design for Xbox & Consumer Electronics and will work with the Xbox team in Redmond, Washington.

Inadvertent leaks through job listings? That's new

Other Xbox 720-related rumours and news include a supposed Xbox 720 “Durango” developer kit that was posted for sale on a developers’ forum for $10,000. The developer kit resembled a traditional PC tower running a debug launcher, which caused many people to be cautious and skeptical about whether the prototype is authentic. EuroGamer’s Digital Foundry reached out to the source of the leak. After following up on the story with multiple developers working on next-gen projects, they came to the conclusion that the hardware was real.

Microsoft’s next-gen gaming console will feature an eight-core processor with support for Blu-ray, true 1080p and native 3D output, and is expected to be around six times more powerful than the current Xbox 360.

The current console generation, the seventh, started in 2005 with the launch of the Xbox 360 and has so far been the longest. It’s been seven years since then and gamers and developers alike are beginning to see the limits of the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo has been the only company to announce their next generation console, the Wii U.