A bunch of recent job postings over on industry pro hub, LinkedIn, have outed Microsoft’s not-so-top-secret plans for a next-gen console.<\/p>\n
Advertised vacancies include a graphics hardware architect, as part of the team “responsible for defining and delivering next generation console architectures from conception through implementation.”<\/p>\n
The second position is for the terribly important-sounding “Senior Architect and Performance Engineer for the Xbox Console Architecture Group”. According to the ad, “The main focus of this position is on performance evaluation and modelling. However, involvement in all aspects of product development regularly occurs. We are looking for someone who is flexible, and wants to be involved with various stages of the product life cycle. During different stages of the product life cycle responsibilities will vary.”<\/p>\n
Finally, Microsoft’s looking for a “Senior Hardware Design Verification Engineer”, which sounds like a character from Mass Effect 2, but is actually the person responsible “for the design verification and qualification of the Xbox console at the component, motherboard, and system levels”. It’s not as cool as flying spaceships.<\/p>\n
What’s probably most interesting about the postings is that they appear to suggest the Xbox 360’s successor is only just barely in development, and not anywhere near as far along as rumour has had it.<\/p>\n
And I’ll just say it while the saying’s good – work on that overheating thing.<\/p>\n