A report on tech site The Verge claims to have word from multiple sources that Microsoft is building a 7-inch tablet with gaming aspirations, referring to the device as the Xbox Surface.

The Xbox Surface will likely include a custom ARM processor and high-bandwidth RAM designed specifically for gaming tasks. We're told these specifications could be altered to accommodate an unannounced Intel SoC and that the Xbox Surface is being developed independent of specific hardware architecture. Microsoft's Xbox Surface won't run a full version of Windows, rather this 7-inch tablet will run a custom Windows kernel. Messaging and other tablet functions may be supported, but the focus is on gaming.

The Verge article goes on to speculate that if the project survives, they expect to see the Xbox Surface launch ahead of the next-gen Xbox console.