Microsoft plans new Xbox event for 21 May The firm originally planned to reveal the device, which will go head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation 4, in April but the date has slipped, it's claimed. Multiple outlets, including technology new website The Verge, The New York Times and Paul Thurrott, a well-known blogger on Microsoft, have all claimed a new Xbox will now emerge on 21 May. Despite the delay, Microsoft remains keen to make an impact ahead of the E3 videogames conference in Las Vegas in June. Sony has already released some details of the PlayStation 4 to whet appetites. Also on Monday, it was revealed that, in common with the PlayStation 4, the new Xbox will use x86 microchip architecture, manufactured by AMD. The shift to the architecture ubiquitous in modern personal computers means Microsoft will drop the Power PC technology designed by IBM, and game discs made for the current Xbox 360 won't be compatible. However it means game developers, who have moved toward making games for PCs and mobile devices, will find it easier to deliver those titles for the next Xbox. "We'll probably see many more titles because the console makers are saying the publishers are back in the driver's seat," said Richard Doherty, president of technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group. Game publishers have complained that current consoles, each with a different architecture, come with a steep learning curve that drives up development costs, according to Doherty. Those companies will save money with the new chips, he said. AMD share surged 13 per cent on the news. Microsoft hasn't released the next Xbox's specifications, including whether it will have an optical drive or details of online-game features and entertainment services. The device is expected to run Windows 8 and form the vanguard of Microsoft's latest push into the living room.