Epic Games vice president Mark Rein has dropped the next-gen bombshell by confirming that their mighty engine which powers hit games such as Gears of War, and Batman Arkham City is already running on next gen hardware.

At the DICE summit in Las Vegas this week, Rein confirmed that Epic would reveal Unreal Engine 4 later this year. The Unreal Engine 4 is also currently running with “systems we can’t name yet,” Rein is reported to have said during the DICE Awards.

Recently we reported that alpha forms of the next-generation Xbox console which could be named “XBOX 8″ – not 8 because it’s the eighth Xbox, but because it’s the eighth generation home console and heavily shares the same software as upcoming Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. It was reported to us that the next-gen console was on display by invite only during CES 2012, running a version of Battlefield 3 in next-gen visuals – most likely to be up on par with current high-spec gaming PC’s.

Microsoft previously reported that there will be no next-gen Xbox announcement at E3 2012, but then again we also remember the amount of times they denied an Xbox 360 Slim console before that was the surprise of E3 2010!

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It makes me only more hyped for E3.

Flip it, and you have the infinity sign, problem solved.

Xbox 8? I've always been fond of the name Xbox ∞ (Xbox Infiniti). Two circles (aka 360's) side by side making an infinity symbol.

Then again, I wanted the Wii to be called the Nintendo 7 before it was known as The Wii.

This post reminded me of that episode in Seinfeld where George wanted his son to be called Seven

Xbox Infinity sounds and looks way cooler.

Also glad to see the specs are able to run BF3 on high if that's true :)

Hmm...Xbox 8, or/and Xbox infinity. Best name I've heard so far! I think you might have stumbled upon something beautiful.

While it makes sense I hope they won't do it.. 3 years after 8 there will be Windows 9 and WP9, ( with the rate phone os are going probably 9,5) so it will sound outdated and confusing for the consumer.. trying to convince everyone to buy a "8" product while 9 is out will be hard..

I call bullocks on this! It will NEVER be called Xbox 8! That would only confuse the mass market, the casual gamers that MS seems to cater to nowadays with Kinect...

^^ That's why Xbox Infinity will be the name, while playing on the fact the infinity sign looks like an 8 but still maintaining an identity that sticks with the customer and doesn't wear out. It will last a while....one could say it will last forever....