In the last few days, a lot of internal information has emerged about Microsoft's plans for the Xbox console. Now the company has to confirm to the court that it is responsible for the leak.
Over the past few days, Xbox fans have been able to look forward to some new insights into what is planned for their favorite console. However, the manufacturing company Microsoft is likely to be annoyed by this, as sensitive internal documents were leaked in the US Trade Commission's (FTC) lawsuit against the purchase of Activision Blizzard.
As a new court filing shows, Microsoft itself is to blame for the fiasco.
Xbox leaks: redesigns, new games and plans to buy Nintendo
Some of what Microsoft has planned for the Xbox has come to light prematurely. For example, it became known that the console manufacturer wants to continue to stick to the X and S series models and that a successor version of the current Xbox will probably not come onto the market until 2028 .
An announced redesign of the X series without a drive for 2024 and a new edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 also emerged from the leaked documents - as did Xbox boss Phil Spencer's speculation about buying Nintendo .
The new document states that the court asked the FTC and Microsoft to provide a link to a secure cloud server so that it could upload evidence submitted by the two parties.
Microsoft complied with this request with a link, which was anything but secure. After a complaint, the court deleted the files again - far too late, of course.
The FTC was not responsible for uploading Microsoft's plans for its games and consoles to the court website. https://t.co/MspoQN1exL
— Douglas Farrar (@DouglasLFarrar) September 19, 2023
Douglas Farrar, the FTC's chief public information officer, denies X any blame for the leak .
Microsoft must confirm to the court that the company itself is to blame
Microsoft and the FTC have until September 22nd to re-upload the evidence, although in doing so they will also be required by the court to confirm that they agreed to the previous upload.
It literally states: “The parties must simultaneously file a written certification signed by all parties and non-parties whose information is included in the admitted exhibits. “In this they confirm that they have examined the exhibits and confirm that they contain only public information in accordance with the orders of the court.”
Microsoft will probably only provide the required signature with gnashing of teeth. However, this is not the first time that the company has caused leaks due to negligence. It was only in June that the company leaked information because certain parts of a document had only been blacked out with a felt-tip pen.