While we've yet to hear anything solid on Microsoft or Sony's next-gen consoles, no one can doubt that both companies are working on them. It's always good to plan for the future, especially as a game developer, so it's no surprise that Rockstar is taking the bull by the horns, and seems to be working on a new engine for the new console generation.
Rockstar North currently has a job listing for a Core Engine Progammer, calling it "an exciting opportunity to develop cutting-edge architectures and high performance systems for current and next-gen platforms."
Since Rockstar hasn't made any announcement that the company is working on any Wii U games (especially their most anticipated title), it's doubtful that "next-gen platform" is referring to anything from Nintendo. This leaves Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox 720, or "Durango," as the main targets for Rockstar.
Supporting this theory is another job listing from Rockstar, looking for a Physics Progammer, although the ad itself doesn't mention working on anything for next-gen consoles.
However, who's to say that this isn't just a new engine for another Rockstar game on this generation's consoles? Well, Rockstar chief Dan Houser says, actually.
In a November interview with Famitsu, Houser told the magazine that "All the best games for a console come out at the end of the lifecycle, right? So now's the best timing of all." If Houser believes that we're at the end of this particular generation of consoles' lifespan, it wouldn't make any sense to work on a brand new engine for a dying breed.
Of course, it's all still just a theory. We'll all have to wait on confirmation from one company or another before we know what comes next. In the meantime, check out the links below for some recent rumors for Sony and Microsoft's next line of consoles.
Xbox 720 Release: Microsoft Patents AR Glasses
Xbox 720 to be Released for 2013 Holiday Season
Xbox 720 And PlayStation 4 Rumors- Microsoft To Release Two Xbox Systems In 2013
PlayStation 4 And Xbox 720 Rumors: Will Sony's New Console Abandon The PlayStation Moniker?