Phil Spencer clears up confusion surrounding ‘accidental’ Xbox leaks
Phil Spencer has broken his silence on the massive leak of Xbox spoilers that supposedly came from Microsoft's legal battle with the FTC.
20th Sep 2023 11:10
Images via Microsoft
Phil Spencer clears up confusion surrounding ‘accidental’ Xbox leaks
Phil Spencer has broken his silence on the massive leak of Xbox spoilers that supposedly came from Microsoft's legal battle with the FTC.
20th Sep 2023 11:10
Images via Microsoft
September 19, 2022, was a great day for the gaming industry's curious streak but a terrible day for Xbox. A wealth of leaks came from the FTC vs. Xbox legal dispute, revealing Xbox's proposed plans for the next five years.
The deluge of works included new refreshes of existing consoles, new controllers, and Bethesda games we'd never dreamed of. It's perhaps the biggest leak the company has let slip through its fingers in its history, and it has sent shockwaves through the industry. Now, Phil Spencer has something to say.
Phil Spencer responds after major Xbox leak
Phil Spencer has issued a notice to Microsoft team members after the massive leaks that took over the internet, and he's expressed his disappointment in the leak itself. Spencer suggests that there's more to the revealed hardware and games than we've seen so far.
As reported by The Verge, the note issued to staff reads:
"Team, Today, several documents submitted in the court proceedings related to our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard were unintentionally disclosed." He reiterates that as the documents are well over a year old, Microsoft's plans "have evolved."
"I also know we all take the confidentiality of our plans and our partners' information very seriously. This leak obviously is not us living up to that expectation. We will learn from what happened and be better going forward.
"We all put incredible amounts of passion and energy into our work, and this is never how we want that hard work to be shared with the community." Teasing that announcements will come soon, Spencer reiterated, "there's so much more to be excited about, and when we're ready, we'll share the real plans with our players."
Spencer concluded by asking Team Xbox to stay focused in the "days and weeks ahead," while still enjoying the success of Starfield. He said we should look ahead to the release of Forza Motorsport and continue "to build games, services and devices that millions of players can enjoy."
Microsoft leaked its own documents - not the FTC
Though it would have been easy to point fingers and blame when it comes to how the documents made it to the public eye, a new report from Bloomberg has indicated that the leak came from Microsoft itself.
The source has been confirmed now by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, adding that Microsoft had accidentally provided a federal court with a link to unredacted documents, which were then uploaded to the internet page for the case in defence of Xbox's purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Having your potential future leaked could give Sony a major leg up and isn't the best look for Microsoft. Still, it's out in the aether now. Roll on the return of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
