Did FTC leak Microsoft's documents? Source behind massive Xbox leak revealed

Microsoft just had one of the biggest leaks of the decade with the FTC court case documents that revealed the company's future plans, including mid-generation refreshes, next-generation consoles, and upcoming Bethesda games, including Doom Year Zero, Dishonored 3, Ghostwire Tokyo sequel, and remasters of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivian.

Considering this leak has something to do with the FTC court case about the ongoing Activision-Blizzard acquisition, many wondered who could be responsible for such a massive leak. Previously, documents from the court case leaked the company's potential acquisition watchlist, including the likes of Sega, IO Interactive, Bungie, and others, due to poor redaction.

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Who leaked Xbox's future plans? FTC or Microsoft

Since the leaks surfaced late last night, it has been revealed who was responsible for the leak. As confirmed by Bloomberg, Microsoft mistakenly provided the unredacted versions of the documents, which were then uploaded to the Court website and were subsequently made available to the public eye.

The FTC denied any involvement in the leaks, as spokesperson Douglas Farrar stated on social media,

"The FTC was not responsible for uploading Microsoft's plans for its games and consoles to the court website."

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, the presiding judge for the FTC vs. Microsoft case, later issued an order related to the leaks, which stated that the tech giant was the one responsible for sharing a link to the documents on September 14, which were later uploaded to the website.

All in all, this leak was a massive blow to Xbox's future plans and took away the element of surprise the company was hoping for. At the time of writing, Xbox has officially yet to acknowledge or comment on the leak.

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Microsoft vs. FTC document leaks future hardware plans and more

The documents leaked from the court case have revealed plans for the future of Xbox hardware. According to the documents, Xbox has plans for a mid-generation refresh of both Series S and Series X, giving them a 1TB and 2TB storage boost respectively.

Interestingly, the documents also showcase a complete redesign of the Series X, featuring a cylindrical design and the distinct lack of a disc drive. The leaks also feature a new controller with improved haptic feedback and seamless connectivity. Most interestingly, the next generation of Xbox consoles were also leaked.

Set for a 2028 release, the gen-10 systems are aimed to be a hybrid console for seamless cloud and console gaming. It is also expected to feature a Zen 6 CPU and a Navi 5 GPU, as well as a dedicated NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for AI and Machine Learning. All in all, this leak is surely a blow to Xbox's future plans.