A huge collection of purported Xbox files related to the Federal Trade Commission’s case against Microsoft have been published online, spilling some of the company’s plans for the gaming console into public view, NBC News reported.
The files were uploaded Friday to a website hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the FTC is suing to block Microsoft’s acquisition of the video game company Activision Blizzard.
According to NBC News, the files include more than 100 documents, many of them partially redacted, related to Microsoft’s Xbox plans.
Douglas Farrar, director of the FTC’s office of public affairs, told NBC News that “Microsoft was responsible for the error in uploading these documents to the court.”
The files include emails from corporate executives like Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and timetables for gaming releases.
Windows Central reported that the FTC v. Microsoft case has the news cycle on fire right now with all the leaked plans coming out from both Microsoft and Bethesda, but a new diskless console and a Fallout 3 Remaster are just a few of the spicy leaks we’ve had this morning.
Documents have been published by The Verge that details Microsoft’s plans well into 2028 for a full amalgamation of cloud gaming and physical consoles to create a perfect hybrid device and “cloud hybrid games.”
According to Windows Central, the idea, pitched by Microsoft, is to create a platform that seamlessly combines the power of the cloud and device to enable gaming anywhere. This may already be in the works at Xbox HQ, and the presentation shows it planned to partner with AMD for the required chips by early 2023 to secure the Navi 5 graphics technology.
Other considerations were made like using Zen 6 CPU cores and Arm. Microsoft also anticipated using the power of AI to improve resolution, reduce latency and smooth frame rates.
The documents show a possible timeline for the technology that would have started hardware design in 2024, sent out the first dev kits in 2027, and created the first hybrid cloud games from 2024 to 2026.
Engadget reported that a massive leak from the FTC v. Microsoft court battle showed Microsoft’s roadmap for a mid-generation Xbox Series X console, but that wasn’t the only news.
The same document also revealed Microsoft’s tentative plans for the next-generation X-box – what it calls a “hybrid game platform.” The system would combine local hardware and cloud computing to create an “immersive game & app platform” arriving around 2028, according to a leaked May 2022 presentation hidden inside another PDF.
In my opinion, someone at Microsoft made a big mistake when they sent the documents to the FTC. Was this an accident? Or was it done intentionally? Either way, this is likely going to be problematic for Microsoft now that the FTC appears interested in those documents.