The long-awaited successor of Microsoft's Xbox 360 could be preparing itself for a holiday 2013 launch.
According to "people familiar with the company's plans" who spoke with Bloomberg, Microsoft is planning to launch the Xbox 720 in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas next year.
The majority of speculation pertaining to the rumored next-generation console has referred to an E3 2012 reveal during June. Other sources have indicated that Microsoft will announce it at a separate event.
The source of Bloomberg didn't want to reveal their identify due to the fact that the information is purportedly based on a confidential Microsoft road map.
Earlier in the year, an all-but-confirmed leaked 56-page document detailed the Xbox 720 itself. The next-generation console is said to offer features such as a Blu-ray drive and the next version of Kinect, with a retail price apparently being set at $299.
The document leak was then pulled by a law firm who lists Microsoft as one of its clients. The latter then responded to the leak by not denying it, buy instead stressing the firm is "continually thinking about the future of the platform".
A holiday release for the Xbox 720 would make sense if the Xbox 360's commercial success during Black Friday is anything to go by. The platform sold 800,000 units last Friday, while total sales during the week of Black Friday equaled 960,000.