PS4 dev kits shipping now, nicknamed Orbis

Developers are currently receiving new PS4 kits, with a final version set to appear after Christmas.

Three versions of the PS4 dev kit have appeared. One was essentially a graphics card, while the model shipping now is styled like a PC. The version appearing in January will be close to the real thing. Developers should receive this during the summer of 2013.

Sony has also held a meeting to show developers exactly what the machine can do. More are planned for the coming weeks. The kit is being called ‘Orbis’, and isn’t referred to as the PS4 just yet.

Orbis is based on AMD’s A10 APU series. This includes a combined CPU and GPU. Each dev kit contained either 8GB or 16GB of RAM.

Sony hasn’t made any official comments on the state of their dev kits.