The ‘biggest Xbox’ reveal: Court blames Microsoft for leaking its own documents – Times of India

On Tuesday (September 19), the media extensively reported about Microsoft’s Xbox plans through 2030, citing a trove of leaked documents as their source. Now, a court in the US has put the onus of what is being referred to as the ‘biggest leak in Xbox history’ on the company itself. Here are the key points of the whole development.
What are the documents about?
The documents in question are related to Microsoft vs Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case wherein the US regulator tried to stall the tech giant’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The documents, which contained “non-public” information, were supposed to remain wraps.
What information did these documents contain?
The court documents revealed a ton of information about what all had been going on within the Microsoft Gaming division as well as critical details about the company’s future plans. The documents revealed that Xbox chief CEO was willing to buy Japanese multinational video game company Nintendo.
In 2020, Microsoft was in discussions to acquire TikTok. However, one of the executives, Takeshi Numoto, didn’t feel it would be the best match for the tech giant. The documents also revealed a disc-less Xbox Series X refresh, a new controller, a cloud-hybrid console and unannounced games from Bethesda.
How these documents got leaked?
In the filing, a US judge said that the FTC and Microsoft were ordered to provide the court with “a secure cloud link” to trial exhibits with redactions that met the court’s recent orders. In response, Microsoft provided a link on September 14, and the court uploaded the exhibits from there.
Both the parties in the case have told the court that “the version of the exhibits provided contained non-public information.” The leaked Xbox documents apparently included a five-page PDF. The documents have been removed.
Both the FTC and Microsoft have been ordered to resubmit admitted trial exhibits by September 22.