Update: Leaked Microsoft image reveals Durango dev kit, further fuelling release date rumours

Whilst the current Xbox 360 console is largely regarded to be just hitting its prime, impatient gamers are calling out for its replacement. Although Microsoft has continously stated the Xbox 360 still has a few good years left in it, a series of leaked documents and gossip say otherwise.

Although some of the Xbox 720 rumours doing the rounds are a little more speculative than others, as the Xbox 360 enters its seventh year of life, the eagerly awaited next-generation console edges ever closer to reality with a flurry of reports suggesting we could see the Xbox 720 formally unveiled next year.

When is the Xbox 720 out?

According to a leaked Microsoft document, the Xbox 720 will land some time in 2013, quashing rumours that the much-mooted device would land at the end of this year.

The 2010-dated document, which refers to the console as the 'Xbox 720', also revealed that the software giant was planning on allocating it a price tag of about £190, which is surprisingly good value for what will be one of the most anticipated consoles of the year.

Although the report was confirmed as genuine by Microsoft, the software giant has repeatedly made reference to the console’s ’10 year lifecycle’, seemingly quelling reports of a pre-2015 arrival.

Update: A report carried by Digital Foundry claims that a series of leaked images of an Xbox 720 dev kit, have been authenticated by developers

The images (below) reportedly show the new Microsoft Xbox 720 Durango dev kit, and were posted on the Assembler Games developer forum as a sale item. Digital Foundry claims unnamed industry sources working on games for next-gen consoles have verified that the images of the Durango Devkit are authentic.

The source told Digital Foundry that the machine is an Alpha version of Xbox 720 hardware and was delivered to the studios this February. The devkit is housed in standard PC casing and Digital Foundry points out that it features Intel CPUs and a graphics card running DirectX 11 that carries NVIDIA branding.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's European boss Chris Lewis said: "I think 2010 will be a very big year for us, it is in many ways for us mid-lifecycle. What you've seen is with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we've got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people.”

Lewis’ words were reiterated by Microsoft's David Hufford, senior director of Xbox product management who last year told an interviewer that, "it's important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us," adding that the company feels there "is no need to launch a new console, because we're able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades."