Leaked Microsoft documents explain why Yakuza: Like a Dragon was briefly a timed next-gen exclusive

It would seem Microsoft’s long, uphill battle to acquire Activision Blizzard could be nearing its end. The Verge reports via an unnamed source that the deal could be closed by the end of next week, though they mentioned that is still tentative, as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority could still threaten the successful closure of Microsoft’s long-sought deal.

Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher Activision Blizzard might be coming to a particularly spooky conclusion. Sources close to the deal have told The Verge that the long, knock-down drag-out process might conclude on Friday October 13.

Microsoft boss Phil Spencer thought about pulling support for Fallout 76 back when the platform holder acquired developer Bethesda as part of the larger purchase of parent company ZeniMax. In a revealing email, Spencer suggested that if the game couldn't manage 10 million monthly average users (a number it would ultimately surpass), a decision should be made to «move on from it».

As the dust from the monstrous Microsoft leak begins to settle, the various players and publishers in the industry are making their positions known on the subject of acquisitions. It might seem like hubris, but Xbox chief Phil Spencer was privately musing about acquiring Warner Bros Interactive, Nintendo, or even Valve, which does put things into perspective.

Xbox parent company spent a lot of money on Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, but its ambitions don’t end there. Many gamers now know Xbox head Phil Spencer’s desire to acquire gaming giant Nintendo. However, the Microsoft executive had also discussed the possibility of acquiring Steam operator Valve.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s next-gen version enjoyed a puzzling period of exclusivity on Xbox Series X and S back in 2020 that was never properly explained — until now.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer considered buying Nintendo at one point, a leaked 2020 email revealed. Multiple documents from Microsoft's trial with the US FTC were leaked Tuesday, with one showing a casual discussion about buying the Mario maker, where Spencer called it a “career moment” and implied that a collaboration would be a ‘good move' for either company. It's worth highlighting that this conversation happened in August 2020, before Microsoft acquired Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion (about Rs. 62,431 crore). The leaks also disclosed Bethesda's release schedule, alongside details for Microsoft's planned mid-generation console refresh.

The court documents from Microsoft’s FTC case are the gift that just keeps giving, although in this instance it seems someone released a document they should have not, as it’s been removed the US courts website.

Microsoft is planning a mid-gen refresh for its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, eyeing a release in 2024. A series of leaked court documents from the Microsoft vs. US FTC trial revealed a roadmap and concept images for its upcoming set of gaming systems, which also includes a new controller with gyro and haptic feedback. Codenamed ‘Brooklin,' the all-digital Xbox Series X boasts the same horsepower as the existing version, albeit lacking a disc drive. The console is cylindrically shaped and comes with a generous 2TB storage — up from 1TB — which I'm guessing is an SSD. It'll bear the same price tag of $499/ Rs. 54,990 and is slated to drop in late October, next year.

Over the weekend, over 120 documents were published to the United States District Court Northern District of California’s files website pertaining to the Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corporation case regarding Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

According to leaked documents posted Tuesday morning, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer floated the idea of the company potentially acquiring Nintendo in 2020.

The recent FTC and Microsoft lawsuit saw a lot of news come out about the company’s business, including potential acquisitions and their decisions about exclusivity. Today, thanks to a new leak of information, we have gotten a deeper look into Xbox’s inner workings, including new hardware, new games, and the idea of purchasing Nintendo in the future.