Xbox Next is a name used along with Project Xenon, Xbox 2 and Xbox 360 to refer to Microsoft's as-yet unnamed Xbox successor video game console. It is expected to be released late 2005 in U.S. and the launch in Europe is only expected a few weeks later. It is rumored and believed by most that the name will be Xbox 360.

In March 2004, Microsoft announced a new software game development strategy, dubbed "XNA", relevant to the Xbox Next.

The Xbox Next will compete for marketshare with the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Project Revolution. The Xbox Next will be officially unveiled on MTV a week before E³ (May 12 2005).

Rumors

• In a Q&A with the development community, Pete Isensee, Development Lead, Xbox Advanced Technology Group, detailed the Xbox Next's specifications. The console is powered by a customized 3.0 GHz CPU, based on the IBM PowerPC 970 processor. The GPU is a custom 500 MHz ATI chip, which is rumored to be a generation ahead of the X800 series. The console has 512 MB of unified memory.
• The CPU includes either two or three independent processors (cores) on a single die. Each core runs at 3.0 GHz. The Xenon CPU can issue two instructions per clock cycle per core. The CPU peaks at approximately 72 GFLOPS.
• Unlike the Xbox, the basic version of the Xbox Next is rumored not to have a hard disk.
• In November 2004, The Inquirer reported that three separate versions of the Xbox Next may be released: a standard Xbox Next, the Xbox Next HD with a built-in hard drive and additional multimeda functionality, and the Xbox Next PC which would incorporate an entry-level PC, a CD burner, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a special multimedia edition of Windows XP.

• If the Xbox Next does come in a version with a hard drive, Halo "2.5" will be a launch title. Xbox 2 and "Halo 2.5"
• I Love Bees-style marketing is apparently being used with OurColony that supposedly rewards visitors with glimpses of Microsoft's next-generation console.

References

• Video of Jay Allard speech at the GDC 2005
• We Got Next (part 1) and We Got Next (part 2), Gamespy articles about the Xbox Next (March 8, 2005).
• Microsoft to release three versions of Xbox 2, an Inquirer article about the three proposed Xbox Next variants
• No Hard Drive in Xbox 2 Confirmed, TeamXbox News article
• Microsoft leaks details on Xbox Next, from MercuryNews.com
• Big Changes Are Planned in Game-Software Strategy, a New York Times article
• Xbox2News.com, Confirmed Xbox 2 Games List