United Kingdom, March 10 -- The next Xbox will reportedly be a "PC in essence but with a TV-friendly shell".

According to industry insider Jez Corden, Microsoft's next console will be "Windows based", which would make early game development on the Xbox easier for studios.

During an appearance on 'The Xbox Two Podcast', he said: "The whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be, so they can optimise exactly for it."

The insider added that while developers are yet to be given devkits for the console - which is rumoured to be ...