Earlier today, a massive amount of information was leaked through documents surrounding the Microsoft-FTC case. Now, Xbox head Phil Spencer has issued a response.
In a statement made on social media, Spencer confirms the Xbox team has seen the leaks and conversation, but characterizes them as being old.
“We’ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents. It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.”
– Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox
The Verge obtained an internal memo from Spencer sent to Microsoft employees today, which shares similar sentiments around the “unintentionally disclosed” documents.
“I know this is disappointing, even if many of the documents are well over a year old and our plans have evolved,” wrote Spencer in the memo.
Plugging the leak
As part of a court order to resolve all sealing issues surrounding the FTC v. Microsoft case, documents were uploaded to a publicly available site. It was quickly discovered that a wealth of unredacted, non-public information was contained within, and the news quickly swept across the internet.
Earlier today, the FTC asserted it had not been the cause of the leaks, saying Microsoft had provided the link. The document has since been taken offline, but it isn’t so easy to put the water back in the bottle with the internet.
The documents included info about a potential next Xbox, a prospective slate of upcoming Bethesda games, and hopes that Xbox could one day finally acquire Nintendo. It was a fascinating leak, providing a fairly big look into the planning and communications behind-the-scenes at one of the biggest companies in games.
Notably, these documents came from a set point in time. As Spencer notes, and most who follow the games industry know, things can rapidly change. But it will be interesting to see, years from now, just how much all of this pans out or diverges.
