One of the biggest things to come out of Microsoft’s battle against FTC was not the verdict for its acquisition deal. For gamers, what was more important were the leaks that came out later. Documents from the trial revealed plans Microsoft had for the Xbox Series X as well as upcoming Bethesda games.

These leaks were devastating to Xbox, especially since they gave away some of their top projects for the future. With Xbox boss Phil Spencer putting out a statement, the one thing fans want to know is who was responsible. It seems there is a new twist to the story, as the leaks look like the result of Microsoft’s carelessness.

Judge confirms it was Microsoft who was responsible for the Xbox leaks

According to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, the leak was Microsoft’s responsibility. From the looks of things, Microsoft’s sloppiness in redacting parts of the document resulted in one of the biggest leaks for their gaming department.

Judge Corley had asked the FTC and Microsoft for a secure cloud link for the trial exhibits. She mentioned the document should have redactions as per court orders. Someone at Microsoft clearly was not paying attention, as the documents submitted gave away an uncensored version, giving away big details to fans.

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Fans were glad to know about the projects in place for Microsoft, especially about the new Xbox Series X going diskless. At the same time, it is bad news for Xbox, as fans may just delay their purchase until the new version releases. Apart from the console, there were major leaks about games such as Elder Scrolls 6, Ghostwire: Tokyo Sequel, Dishonored 3, as well as Red Dead Redemption 2 coming to the new-gen console.

What comes next?

The leak is one of the biggest in the company’s history. It gave away their strategy with the console as well as future releases. While Phil Spencer attempted to put out the fire with his tweet, it seems the damage has already been done.

What is more important for Xbox is that the documents were taken down. The US District Court for the Northern District of California removed all the files about the trial from its website. Moreover, Judge Corley and FTC both made it clear that it was Microsoft who was responsible for the leaks.

As per the court’s new orders, Microsoft and FTC need to resubmit the trial documents by September 22. In addition to this, both parties also need to confirm the documents they submit contain public information only that is as per the orders.

In its entirety, this has been one big mess Microsoft landed itself into. A leak that is arguably bigger than the Project Fortaleza leaks from 2012. It will be interesting to see how PlayStation uses this to change their own strategy for the coming years, especially since Microsoft has handed them their plans for a major chunk of this decade.

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