A considerable cache of documents and slides from the court battle between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was leaked recently. The confidential documents revealed details of Microsoft"s plans for the Xbox ecosystem going forward, from upcoming hardware and in-development gaming projects to internal emails. Now, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has responded to the massive leak.
"We"ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents," Spencer stated in short message via his official Twitter account. "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."
Some of the documents, like the upcoming Xbox Series X|S hardware refresh and the next-gen Xbox controller featuring haptic feedback, are from relatively recent developments. However, as Spencer says, the documents that have gained a lot of attention online are leaked internal emails, which are from 2020 or even older conversations.
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 (@XboxP3) September 19, 2023
This includes things like Phil Spencer speaking about a possible Nintendo acquisition, and admitting how uninterested the Japanese giant would be. The leaked Bethesda release schedule is also from a 2020 report, even prior to Microsoft"s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, its studios, and IPs.
"We will share the real plans when we are ready," ends the message from the Xbox head.
Xbox fans will have to wait and see what the gaming giant has been working on. The next major stage for announcements is happening near the end of the year at The Game Awards , 2023. Microsoft famously unveiled the original Xbox Series X at the show in 2019, and if there is new hardware incoming soon, a repeat performance is not out of the question.