Microsoft itself was reportedly responsible for this week’s major leak of documents concerning future plans for Xbox according to The Verge.
In a new filing from judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, it was revealed the court ordered involved parties to provide a secure cloud link with relevant documents, including redactions, to the case. Microsoft provided a link on September 14th, and the court uploaded the exhibits from there.
The court has since removed the documents after being informed “the version of the exhibits provided contained non-public information.” The FTC and Microsoft must resubmit admitted trial exhibits by Friday.
Meanwhile, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has responded to the leak on Twitter, saying:
“We’ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents. It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.”
The leaked documents went into detail about the apparent mid-gen refresh of the Xbox Series X which is becoming a discless cylinder boasting a revamped controller with an accelerometer.
Separately in a memo seen by The Verge, Spencer reportedly told employees that “many of the documents are well over a year old and our plans have evolved” and promised the company will “learn from what happened and be better going forward”.
The documents also seemingly revealed Bethesda’s potential future game plans, Spencer’s thoughts on a possible Nintendo acquisition, and according to WCCF Tech, Spencer is quoted as saying Xbox would potentially “exit the gaming business” if the Game Pass subscriber base did not significantly increase on PC and cloud by 2027.
