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.
Xbox FTC leaks – the next-generation Xbox, mid-generation Xbox Series refresh, and more [Update]
19.09.2023 - 21:59 / gematsu.com / Jacqueline Scott Corley / Phil Spencer / Xbox Series
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.
One of those documents, an 187MB file named “PX7011 (Redacted).pdf,” contained several attachments viewable in PDF readers such as Acrobat, containing unredacted, highly confidential information about the future of Xbox and more.
In an order filed today, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said “Microsoft provided the link” to the documents, which were then uploaded to the files website by the court. The documents have since been removed as they contained non-public information, and Microsoft Corporation will meet with the court by September 22 to resubmit the documents, while verifying they only contain public information.
However, despite the documents’ removal, the information has already been seen and archived by many. The documents include presentations about Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, its mid-generation refresh for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and the Xbox controller, ZeniMax’s upcoming slate of unannounced games, and more.
Find summaries of each new piece of information revealed by the documents below.
The Next-Generation Xbox
The following information comes from the file “EX PX1022 Phil Spencer 101122.pdf,” which is attached to “PX7011 (Redacted).pdf.”
Context
In a presentation titled “Gaming CSA — Strategy Review 2205 — Discussion Materials vFinal.pdf,” which was sent out on May 5, 2022, Microsoft discussed its vision of 2030.
Information
In an email from Microsoft general manager David Hampton to the gaming leadership team, an attached presentation reveals first information about Microsoft’s plans for the next-generation Xbox, which it expects to launch in calendar year 2028.
While Microsoft has historically been focused on console first and foremost with an Xbox-specific silicon approach, working largely independently with a vertical alignment of hardware and software, it aims to achieve “full convergence” by calendar year 2028 when it launches its next-generation hardware.
Each generation of Xbox has brought new innovations to Microsoft, such as the Xbox Live Marketplace and Kinect in the Xbox 360 era, or Xbox Game Pass in the Xbox One era. For the next-generation Xbox era, Microsoft expects its new innovations to be “cloud hybrid games” and an “immersive game and app platform.”
The company listed the following opportunities and challenges regarding the next generation of Xbox, including scalable hardware architecture, augmented reality and virtual reality, silicon performance and costs, and more.
Microsoft considers cohesive
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techcrunch.com
22.09.2023 / 00:13
What we learned from Microsoft’s big Xbox leak
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polygon.com
20.09.2023 / 19:39
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The video game industry revolves around secrets — it often feels like everything about a game in development is closely guarded. It’s a far cry from the literary world, where books are announced and detailed in trade publications well ahead of publication, or in entertainment, where casting news trickles out over a course of years. Video game creation, design, production, and distribution comprise a volatile, ever-shifting process, and for the companies behind the biggest games, too much transparency would dissolve carefully crafted exterior narratives. That’s why it was such a huge deal when Microsoft accidentally uploaded non-public documents to a California court’s file repository last week.
eurogamer.net
20.09.2023 / 12:07
Leaked Microsoft documents explain why Yakuza: Like a Dragon was briefly a timed next-gen exclusive
When Yakuza: Like a Dragon released in 2020, there was an odd situation where the PS5 version released four months after the Xbox Series X/S version, with no explanations given.
gadgets.ndtv.com
20.09.2023 / 10:51
Microsoft Considered Buying Nintendo at One Point, Court Documents Reveal; Unannounced Bethesda Games Leaked
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.
gamesindustry.biz
20.09.2023 / 09:37
Phil Spencer on Xbox leaks: "So much has changed"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has responded to the leaks that saw a swathe of information about Microsoft's future games plans, which were intended for a US court, made available to the public.
thesixthaxis.com
20.09.2023 / 09:31
Fallout 3 Remaster, Ghostwire: Tokyo 2, and Dishonored 3 listed in court documents
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.
gadgets.ndtv.com
20.09.2023 / 06:57
Xbox Leak: Microsoft Is Planning Xbox Series X and Series S Refreshes in 2024, New Controller With Gyro
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.
comingsoon.net
19.09.2023 / 21:59
Microsoft Discussed Possibility of Buying Nintendo in Leaked Documents
According to leaked documents posted Tuesday morning, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer floated the idea of the company potentially acquiring Nintendo in 2020.
eurogamer.net
19.09.2023 / 21:53
Xbox boss calls mega-leak information "old", says "so much has changed"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has addressed today's mega-leak, calling the confidential Microsoft documents inadvertently made public as part of the company's court battle with the FTC «old» and saying Xbox will «share [its] real plans when we are ready».
polygon.com
19.09.2023 / 19:11
California court says Microsoft leak was Microsoft’s fault
Microsoft’s leak that spread Tuesday morning revealed a ton of explosive Xbox secrets, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California says it was Microsoft’s own fault.
eurogamer.net
19.09.2023 / 18:57
The FTC would like you to know it didn't leak those confidential Xbox documents
Following today's mega-sized Xbox leak — which has given us word of a planned digital-only Xbox Series X/S refresh and new controller, a tantalising Bethesda release roadmap, first details of a brand-new Xbox in 2028, confirmation Xbox boss Phil Spencer is awfully keen to buy Nintendo, and more — the US Federal Trade Commission has stepped forward to quell any bubbling conspiracy theories and emphatically state it was not responsible (it was Microsoft).