Xbox 720 simply called 'Xbox', 'X-Surface' gaming tablet inbound - rumour

Xbox 720 - or whatever you want to call Microsoft's next home gaming console - is to be called 'Xbox', in a move that shadows Apple's strategy in calling its tablet 'iPad'. That's the claim of one site, whose sources suggest that the console will work with all Microsoft 'Xbox' branded devices and media, including a new X-Surface gaming tablet. The device is rumoured to have been seen running Unreal Engine 3 games at 60 FPS recently.

UPDATE: Since the time of writing, VG247 since understands this story to be false and the result of a hoax. Disregard everything below.

Original Story: Now, I know what most of us are thinking. That this is just another shite rumour and yes maybe that's true. After all this is the time of the generation where rumours fly from all directions, but we have to report on this stuff just in case it comes to pass, so please bear with us.

So, this new rumour comes from a source close to Microsoft, who has told Pocket Lint that Microsoft is ditching the rumoured '720' or 'Surface' name from its next console, and is simply going to call it 'Xbox' in order to create a unified gaming brand across multiple devices. This stacks up with what a Microsoft exec stated last year.

This applies to a new gaming tablet that the source has called 'X-Surface', a device that doesn't run on either Windows 8 or RT, but a new OS as a standalone portable console. The tablet is said to house connectivity options that let users access media on the new Xbox's hard drive. It will not have apps of its own, the source says, and it will not have its own Windows-style OS.

The source adds that the X-Surface has been shown internally running Unreal Engine 3 demos at a 'solid' 60 FPS, which will use a 'proprietary 2.4GHz wireless protocol' that allows it to tether to Xbox 360 controllers and 'future control devices'.

Elsewhere, the source claims that 'Xbox' will house an 8-core CPU and that each core will run at 1.9GHz. The tipster also confirms rumours of an 800MHz CPU, stating, "One benchmark used internally has been a custom build Watch Dogs E3 demo which runs at 55-60fps with only five cores at 100 per cent."

Finally, the source states that the 'Xbox' will house an OS that looks similar to Windows 8 in some ways, but that it is not a full version of Windows 8. Instead it will take two CPU cores to run and will manage multi-tasking and other functions. The source called it, "Very much akin to Nintendo's offerings on 3DS and Wii U - but on a far larger scale."

The new 'Xbox' controller is said to be similar to the Xbox 360 pad, with the same button layout.

That's what Pocket Lint's source says. Now judge for yourself if it's true or not below.