Kicking off this week’s speculation splash-back is a rather controversial rumour about the upcoming console, currently codenamed the ‘Xbox720’. Sneaky men and women who claim to have firsthand knowledge with the work-in-progress rig have been speaking with gaming site EDGE about a variety of features in the next next-gen console, which range from an included kinect equivalent & Blu-ray player capable of reading up to 50GB discs.

However, there is also news of more questionable features present, one of which is that the console is to require a constant internet connection to function, which has understandably raised more than a few eyebrows amongst the general population of console dwellers out there. Other concerns are that the console is going to enforce a policy against second hand games, with all releases requiring an activation code before they can be played, essentially killing the lucrative second hand trade for games on the upcoming console. More on this as and when it filters out.

Onto fantasy worlds now, with goodie-bag of info on the latest edition to the Witcher series, and what the future holds CD Projekt Red’s medieval Slash ’em up. Speaking about the studios next title, studio head Adam Badowski has released a bundle of information on what to expect from your next visit to the world of the Witcher.

New features for the next instalment include an open world setting, “30 times larger than the previous game & larger than that of Skryim”, a fancy new game engine which will see its first outing alongside the new release and a new story for the games protagonist, Geralt of Rivia, to contend with. Other features finding a place on the list include swaggering across the game world on mounts (boats too!) the death of any and all QTE (Quick time events for those of you who never played Shenmue) much to the fans delight, and a complete lack of loading screens as you transition across the games vast expanses.

Also firing both ways on the rumour Richter scale is speculation that this will NOT be the end of the series, and that there is still a chance CD Projekt Red may continue the IP, but in a different direction to Geralt’s monster slaying story. The speculation spectrometer started ticking after the studio released a statement following the previous remarks that the witcher 3 hails the end of the series.

“This is the last part of the trilogy, in which there will be a great finale of the story...” Said CEO Adam Kicinski “However, this doesn't mean the end of franchise,". Obviously the guys and gals at CD Projekt Red aren’t ready to put this horse out to stud just yet, and with the company branching out into other IP’s like Cyberpunk 2077, my guess is there’s more on the horizon to watch for from these guys.

Last to go under the magnifying glass of rumour inspection is something that will quite possibly cause mass hype across the nations. I am of course speaking about the recent events of the D.I.C.E summit today, in which Valves Gabe Newell addressed the crowd alongside famous producer J.J Abrams. As per their style of teasing fans with bite-sized portions of info, the pair announced that they are to go into partnership, each with the hopes of crossing over into the different mediums of game development and movies.  “So, what does this mean?” I hear you proclaim, and the answer is enigmatic at best, but to put it in the simplest form possible...

PORTAL & HALF LIFE MOVIE ANYONE???

So, what are your impressions of these supposed features of the Xbox720? Does the Witcher 3’s new take on the series sound like a good thing? Will there be more from Projekt Red’s breakthrough series in the future? And how freaking awesome is the idea of a Portal/Half Life movie?

That’s it for this week’s gathering of gossip, but be sure to check back every week when I dish out the latest whisperings from the world of gaming.