Xbox Leak: Microsoft Is Planning Xbox Series X and Series S Refreshes in 2024, New Controller With Gyro

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».

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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».

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.

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.