Microsoft Itself Leaked Documents, Court Says; Xbox Boss Responds

Microsoft itself is responsible for leaking documents concerning future Xbox plans, unannounced games, and potential studio acquisitions. A new filing from the FTC v Microsoft judge (via The Verge) confirms the source of the leak.

In the filing, judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote that the court ordered involved parties to confer and provide the court with a "secure cloud link" with relevant documents to the case, along with redactions. Microsoft provided the link and the documents were uploaded to the case's official page. In other words, Microsoft uploaded the documents without redacting what has now leaked.

The court has since removed the documents after being informed of the leak. Now, involved parties will have to resubmit the exhibits by September 22. The parties will also have to sign a certification confirming that the uploaded exhibits do not include "non-public information."

Phil Spencer responded to the leak on Twitter/X. He said, "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 include information about a discless version of the Xbox Series X, a revamped controller with an accelerometer, as well as a game schedule full of not-yet-announced titles. While Spencer confirmed that a lot as changed since these documents were created, no details have been shared about what changes have since been made.