Microsoft Game Studios is hiring for a "next generation project" for the Kinect according to a recent job listing.
The studio in question is 'Platform Next' an unannounced group dedicated to Kinect that was originally spotted late last month through another job advert, along with another studio called LEAP. The job listing states:
Are you interested in shipping innovative games that will change the way people play? If so, we want you to join our team to work on a next-generation project, built from the ground up in Microsoft Game Studios.
We have a very strong team of game industry experts tackling the challenges of creating innovative social games which use software and hardware technologies in new ways.
The listing also suggests that the game will include multiplayer:
You work collaboratively with designers and other developers to make push multiplayer game experiences to their maximum fun potential.
As well as obviously pointing towards a Kinect release:
Experience with Kinect or other motion control technologies
But the inclusion of "next generation project" in the listing could of course be from someone who annoyingly still refers to the current gen as next gen. So that's why LEAP's separate job listing is interesting. Considering the two Kinect-related MGS studios started hiring at the same time, and the ads have very similar job requirements, it does seem the studios are related.
LEAP, however, isn't just a software studio, as the listing from earlier this month reveals:
We’re the people that developed Kinect and profoundly changed the way people interact with technology. Now our incubation team is ready to change the world again, but we need your help!
We’re a small and growing team of experienced incubators and game developers working with truly inspiring entertainment technology. We brainstorm exciting and ground-breaking experiences and quickly build working prototypes on top of developing tech. We transform our ideas into reality through shipping first-to-market products.
So that means there's one MGS studio hiring for a "next generation project" to do with Kinect, and another that is prototyping tech that aims to change the way people interact just like Kinect did. While the usual helping of salt is recommended, the two listings do seem to point towards a Kinect successor and an accompanying game being in the works at Microsoft Game Studios.
Would you like to see a Kinect 2, or are you still annoyed that the first one even exists?
