Could the Xbox 720 be under a year away from an official unveiling?...

As far as revelations went, 2011's E3 was a bit of a let-down from Microsoft. While Nintendo were eager to introduce their Wii-U to the masses - and Sony were happy plugging the likes of Uncharted 3, and the general awesomeness of their console (in their opinion) - Microsoft sat stagnant, either unwilling - or unable - to give both attendees and the press something to talk about.

Cowering behind their Kinect and unwilling to budge, Microsoft instead babbled on about how 'the Kinect was changing the face of gaming as we know it' and how it was "the future, today", before coming to an end and leaving more than a few baffled onlookers. The thing was, the gaming community had never questioned the Kinect's ability - in fact, they'd been very forthcoming in regards to its arrival - so Microsoft's Kinect-heavy presentation could only mean one thing...they had nothing.

To say we were disappointed was an understatement - fans were dejected. Microsoft had shown so much quality of late - Gears of War 3, Halo 4; sure even the Kinect - and yet, with the stage set and the audience salivating, Microsoft gave us nothing...not even a hint.

However, a 'high-ranking' source from Crytek - the company responsible for such ground-breaking releases as Far Cry and Crysis - has once again reignited the flickering flames of our interest, suggesting both a new Timesplitters and a rough unveil date for the 360's successor in one smooth quote. While unconfirmed, the source indicates that Crytek are working on Timesplitter's 4 using Mircosoft's updated DX11 development tool; and that, while no console specs have been confirmed as of yet, the impact of DX11 on visuals has been phenomenal.

As is the case with such a leak, both Microsoft and Crytek have denied the rumours, with Crytek going as far as saying that it " does not have any next generation hardware from Microsoft, and has no idea when Microsoft will announce its future console plans" - way to deny a rumour. Yet, if you analyse what they have said, there is no mention of Timesplitter's 4, thus no denial of its existence, which is still an equally exciting revelation. Further still, they were nice enough to confirm that their "under-the-hood technology will be a next generation engine for all consoles,based on estimates", so it would seem logical that such a next generation console is already under development, if not already at a prototype stage?

Either way, it's an interesting thought, and one we will be sure to follow with great interest...

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