Microsoft has confirmed the existence of DirectX 12. As expected, it will be unveiled at GDC 2014 on March 20. It would appear that all the usual suspects are already on board -- the use of their logos on the DirectX 12 website strongly suggests that AMD, Nvidia, Intel, and Qualcomm are all preparing DX12 hardware. Considering DX10 was released in 2006, and DX11 was released in 2009, DX12 is incredibly overdue. All signs point to DirectX 12 being a direct competitor to AMD's recently released Mantle API, and in all likelihood will stymie AMD's attempt to gain a critical mass of game developers.