The rumour mill keeps churning in the lead-up to the expected announcement of Microsoft's new Xbox console. This latest development has far less credibility than other leaks that have come by way of trusted sources of reputable publications however, so take it with a grain of salt.

An anonymous user reached out to several members of the NeoGAF forums, linking to a pastebin post where they had summarised their alleged insider knowledge on the upcoming console.

The write-up is largely a corroboration of recent details published by VGLeaks, with a few clarifications. The most significant being that the new console, codenamed Durango, will actually include an Xbox 360 System on Chip (SoC), allowing it to play the older device's games, and supposedly affording some manner of performance boost for newer software.

The author also reiterated that players are "not required to be connected to the internet in order to play Durango games and MS were NEVER considering doing such a thing", and offered some further insight into the OS software side of things:

The only thing that I do know for definite is that Durango will be running Windows 8. It will essentially be the full version of the OS, minus the desktop side of things. This means it’ll be running the new WinRT framework, which as a side effect also means that contrary to popular belief MS will be the most indie friendly of all the big 3 next gen.

This is because any app/game that is created for the Windows app store will (after adding controller support of course) be playable on Durango.

In other words, any random person worldwide can pay Microsoft a $60 license fee (for the Windows Store) and submit their app/game to the store where millions of people can then download/buy it. No expensive development kits needed.

Microsoft is still widely expected to be planning their big Xbox-centric reveal with an event on May 12st, a rumour that has now been corroborated by many sources.