Xbox 720 or PS4? Bethesda hiring for unannounced game on ‘next-gen’ consoles

Bethesda Studios, the company behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is hiring for an "unannounced game on future-generation consoles".

Bethesda mentioned the career opportunites for animators, artists, designers, and programmers as they "ramp up for their next major release" – which looks to be headed to next-gen consoles.

Bethesda didn't reveal any details at all, but the words "next-gen" should be enough to spark more rumors surrounding a possible Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4.

Rumors surrounding a next-gen console announcements from either Microsoft or Sony have died out somewhat since the companies both confirmed there would be no new announcements or hardware reveals at E3 this year.

But the lack of announcement rumors doesn't mean there has been a lack of feature speculations.  Microsoft and the Xbox 720 (or Durango) has seen the most speculation, with supported features rumors ranging from increased 3D support to an iPad-style tablet controller to an anti-used game technology.

Of course, Sony has also received its fair share of rumored specs including AMD graphics tech being used with the new console – a change from the PS3's nVidia.

If you are interested in a job with Bethesda, be sure to visit their official website for career opportunities.  If you'd like to delve into the land of next-gen consoles, then you can find the new programming position here.

Whether or not their hiring for next-gen means the Xbox 720 or PS4 is actually close to arriving remains to be seen.  They could just be preparing for the future, because we do know it will eventually arrive.

Bethesda isn't the only company looking towards the future.  Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward posted a job listing last month calling for a Senior Animator with an "interest in working with next-gen technologies."

In another case, Rockstar Games ran a job ad seeking environment artists "to get the most from next-gen consoles."  That, of course, sparked rumors that Grand Theft Auto V was headed to next-gen consoles.  It was a rumor that prompted Rockstar to quickly remove the words "next-gen" from the updated job posting and replace them with "have the creative and technical knowledge to achieve the highest quality results within budget."

My advice, take Bethesda's job listing for "future generation consoles" with a grain of salt.  Just because they are looking to the future doesn't mean the future is already here.  Enjoy the Xbox 360 and PS3 while we still have them.

As for what the actual unannounced title could be, I'm hoping Fallout 4.