The long-rumoured next generation Xbox is seemingly well on its way, with strong indications Microsoft has been shipping out ‘Xbox 720’ devkits to next-gen developers for some time. Now, what appears to be an authentic 720 devkit has sold on eBay for a sum topping $20,000.

The posting on the auction site follows a series of leaks by its owner (known as the alias DaE) who first posted photos of what he claimed to be a genuine Xbox 720 devkit, but later listed the rather The Durango listing went on to sell for $20,100.anonymous-looking alpha hardware for a cool $10,000 on a little-known developer forum. Digital Foundry later followed up the claims and contacted multiple sources of its own who seemed to all but agree that the hardware in DaE’s possession was the real deal, a devkit sent straight from Microsoft HQ that boasts parts common with a “standard gaming PC”.

In what is likely to be the winning bidders’ most expensive PC purchase to date (but for good reason), the eBay listing – named ‘Microsoft XBOX Durango Development Kit – attracted a total of 43 bids and ended just over the twenty thousand dollar mark at $20,100. But the buyer ought to be well aware, also, that the system far from confirms the hardware specs we can expect from the long-awaited next-generation of Xbox. Instead, it gives an indication to the studios developing next-gen AAA fare an indication of what to expect performance-wise from the console. Nor will the buyer in question have any games to give it a whirl. Alas, this will be little more than a collector's item to cherish.

Richard Birkett