Rohit Tiwari
After the biggest leak ever in Xbox’s history, the US district court has deleted all of the documents in the FTC versus Microsoft case from its public server. A bunch of confidential documents dating back to 2022 were recently leaked revealing the internal communications and title release roadmap among other several things. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also stepped up and said that it was not responsible for these leaks and blamed Microsoft for it.
US District Court Deletes The Leaked Documents in FTC versus Microsoft Case
The US district court has deleted all the documents as part of the case and not just the leaked confidential ones as reported by Tom Warren on X, but it is now too late to cover up Microsoft’s secrets. The court documents revealed a trove of unredacted internal documents. These documents were shared by Microsoft during its case against the FTC regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
the US district court has deleted all of the documents in the FTC v. Microsoft case, following a huge error where multiple confidential Xbox documents were attached to a single PDF https://t.co/KSxtFhEF6E pic.twitter.com/afuYjUc7hh
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 19, 2023
Douglas Farrar, director of the FTC’s Office of Public Affairs wrote on X that “The FTC was not responsible for uploading Microsoft’s plans for its games and consoles to the court website.” He also stated to NBC that Microsoft was solely responsible for the error in uploading these confidential documents to the court.
Xbox head Phil Spencer also took to X and acknowledged that Microsoft is aware of the leaks and coined it as “hard to see.” He also stated that so much has changed since the date of the leaked documents and the company will share the actual plans as soon as it is ready.
What Information Did the Confidential Documents Reveal?
The leaked documents contained “non-public” information and it was supposed to remain that way. The documents showed details of a digital-only Xbox Series X|S Refresh console and a new controller codenamed Brooklin and Sebile. The court documents also revealed that Xbox boss Phil Spencer is keen to buy Japanese video game giant, Nintendo and details on a brand-new Xbox that will reportedly use the “power of the cloud.”
The leaks also revealed a release schedule for Bethesda’s games including some fan-requested and unannounced titles. These games included titles like Fallout 3 Remaster and Oblivion Remaster which the fans have been wanting for a long long time. The list also had a new Doom game, Dishonored 3, revealed that The Elder Scrolls VI was initially planned for 2024, Ghostwire Tokyo 2, and the Indiana Jones game among others.
As per Farrar, the FTC and Microsoft were asked to give the court a “secure cloud link” to exhibits with redactions. Microsoft gave the link on September 14th and then the court uploaded the documents. Both the parties said that the exhibits provided contained “non-public information” and the court has now deleted the documents from the internet. FTC and Microsoft have been asked to resubmit the exhibits by September 22.
What are your thoughts about these confidential documents leaks? Do you think it was intentional? Let us know in the comments!
Source: X
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