At the Microsoft Gamefest 2008 game development conference, Microsoft publicly announced that it is currently developing the next-generation DirectX standard. This new technology, named "DirectX 11," will support the next version of the Windows Vista system (Windows 7), and is expected to be launched at the end of 2009 along with the Windows 7 operating system. Recently, Microsoft stated that DirectX 11 will be released in the second half of next year and might even be launched before Windows 7.
DirectX 11 builds on the technologies of DirectX 10 and DirectX 10.1, incorporating more advanced 3D techniques such as the polygon subdivision technique known as Tessellation, as well as more sophisticated material imaging technology. DirectX 11 supports both Windows Vista and Windows 7. With the support of DirectX 11, game graphics will become more refined. Additionally, research and development in the graphics card domain has already begun based on DirectX 11, with planned support for DirectX 11 graphics cards set to be released next year alongside DirectX 11.