Gamers woke up today to find a Microsoft leak that included documents containing sensitive information, revealing some of the company’s plans for future Xbox consoles, controllers, and games. The sad part is that the only one to blame seems to be the company itself.
The unredacted – and now-removed – documents found their way to a government website overnight and relate to the recently concluded Microsoft v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial that saw the two entities battling over the Xbox manufacturer’s plans to purchase Activision Blizzard. Microsoft proved victorious, but today’s leak shows that there will always be new struggles to tackle. Many assumed that the FTC was to blame for what is probably the biggest leak since last year’s Grand Theft Auto 6 fiasco. However, it seems this is not the case.
Related: Ghostwire Tokyo 2 Is Happening, According to Microsoft Leak
Douglas Farrar, the FTC director of public affairs, commented on the Microsoft leak in an X post. His words make his take on the matter clear: “The FTC was not responsible for uploading Microsoft’s plans for its games and consoles to the court website.” A Bloomberg report adds to the evidence, suggesting the leak is a self-inflicted wound, as one of its sources also claims that Microsoft was the one to upload the documents. Finally, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley confirmed it was Microsoft who accidentally provided the court with the unredacted documents that were uploaded. Ouch.
The notoriously secretive gaming industry often sees its members set themselves up for potential leaks by keeping plans behind closed doors, but even then, we rarely see leaks of this magnitude. The Microsoft leak pulled back the curtain on plans for the company’s mid-gen refresh for the Xbox Series X | S consoles. Unannounced Xbox hardware wasn’t the only project to see a premature reveal, however, as a few yet-to-be-revealed video games from Bethesda Softworks were also brought out into the light. These include a Fallout 3 Remaster, Doom Year Zero, Ghostwire Tokyo 2, and more. While Microsoft has yet to formally announce these projects, and they could be canceled before they ever see a release, it seems somewhat clear that they have all been in the cards to launch at some point or another.
Today’s Microsoft leak is one of the biggest in recent memory. However, until the company has something official to share, we should all keep our expectations low. Until then, be sure to keep checking in for updates.
