Earlier today, a huge amount of confidential information about Microsoft"s current and upcoming plans for Xbox hardware and games was uploaded to a federal court site. Now it looks like someone from the company might be responsible for this huge info leak.
Bloomberg reports, via unnamed sources, that the information was uploaded to the court site "accidentally" by someone at Microsoft. The site has been the source of info on Microsoft"s current legal fight with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the company"s plans to acquire Activision Blizzard.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Douglas Farr, the FTC"s director of the office of public affairs, wrote, "The FTC was not responsible for uploading Microsoft’s plans for its games and consoles to the court website."
In a follow-up X post, Farr wrote that the judge in the FTC vs. Microsoft case revealed that Microsoft provided a secure cloud link on September 14 and the court uploaded what was contained in that link to its website, which inadvertently included "non public information".
The judge just posted this order related to the accidental publication of Microsoft documents. pic.twitter.com/1nShLKrYbD
— Douglas Farrar (@DouglasLFarrar) September 19, 2023
The judge says that the private Microsoft info has been removed from the court site. However, it was way too late, as the leaked information went all over the internet this morning. It included info on Microsoft"s next Xbox consoles, including a Xbox Series X refresh planned for 2024 and a new console in 2028.
It also contained info on Microsoft"s next Xbox controller and a leaked schedule for upcoming games from its Bethesda Softworks studios. Microsoft has yet to offer any official or public comments about the information from this leak.
The court now says both the FTC and Microsoft will provide "amended trial exhibits" by September 22. In addition to using a secure cloud link, the parties will also "file a written certification" that will confirm that the FTC and Microsoft have reviewed the files contained in those links and "certify they only contain public information in accordance with the Court"s orders."