It's the next generation of OpenGL, and like OpenGL it will be an open standard; unlike OpenGL (with its OpenGL ES variant) Vulkan will natively support mobile platforms.
The Khronos Group, that consortium of companies and schools responsible for maintaining open standard APIs like OpenGL and OpenCL, has given a name to its upcoming OpenGL successor: Vulkan.
Like OpenGL it will be an open standard; unlike OpenGL (with its OpenGL ES variant) Vulkan supports mobile platforms, and The Khronos Group expects to start talking about initial specs for the tech later this year.
Vulkan already faces competition from the likes of Apple and Microsoft, but it still has the OpenGL legacy advantage of being an open standard -- unlike proprietary graphics tech like DirectX 12 or Apple's Metal.
According to its creators, Vulkan is designed to be a low-overhead API that minimizes a developer's need to rely on drivers by (among other things) offering direct GPU control and the ability to conduct multi-threaded GPU command preparation for contemporary PC, console, embedded and mobile hardware.
More details can be found on the Vulkan website, alongside opportunities to participate in the development process.
This marks the fruition of The Khronos Group's glNext initiative, and representatives from Valve, Epic and Unity will join a consortium representative on-stage at GDC later this week to walk attending developers through a preview of the technology.
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