Microsoft’s Xbox documents leaked in emails during FTC case

Emails containing major information about Microsoft’s Xbox plans were leaked during a case with the Federal Trade Commission, they have since been retracted.

A sizable number of allegedly authentic Xbox documents connected to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) complaint against Microsoft have been made public online, revealing some of the company's ambitions for the game system.

The documents were placed online on Friday by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the FTC is suing to stop Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard, a maker of video games. Sometime Tuesday morning, the legal system's site stopped providing the data.

Over one hundred documents about Microsoft's Xbox plans are included in them, many of which have some redaction.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley made it abundantly clear in a filing on Tuesday that the materials were not intended for public consumption. She said that on Thursday, Microsoft had provided a link to the case's exhibits, and the court had uploaded those files; however, the parties had subsequently informed the court that those files contained nonpublic material.

Both parties were given until Friday to resend the exhibits using a "secure cloud link," per Corley's instructions.

The documents contain correspondence from business leaders, including Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft gaming, as well as schedules for new game releases.

Senior Microsoft Gaming workers are heard discussing the importance of their exclusive hold on a number of important video game titles in some of the documents.

In one document, a list of anticipated release dates and platforms for a number of popular game titles is displayed.