Xbox leak: new Xbox Series X design, next-gen in 2028, and more

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One of the biggest Xbox leaks in history has occurred, thanks to the FTC v. Microsoft case. Unredacted documents have revealed key Microsoft communications between Xbox executives, plans for a new disc-less Xbox Series X, a gyro controller, and even a next-gen hybrid Xbox in 2028.

It’s the biggest leak in Xbox history, simply because unredacted emails like this don’t usually appear in the public domain. Follow along for all the latest developments.

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    The planned ‘Brooklin’ Xbox Series X.

    The planned ‘Brooklin’ Xbox Series X.

    a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: FTC vs. Microsoft

    Microsoft is planning to refresh its Xbox Series X console in 2024 with an all-new design and features. Codenamed Brooklin, the unannounced console refresh has been accidentally revealed in new FTC v. Microsoft documents this week.

    The new Xbox Series X design looks a lot more circular than the existing console and will ship without a disc drive. Internal confidential Microsoft documents reveal it has 2TB of storage (up from 1TB), a USB-C front port with power delivery, and an “all-new, more immersive controller.”

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  • Phil Spencer gets real about gaming studio closures.

    It’s not about profits. When asked if Game Pass could have prevented studio closures in a leaked email from the FTC v. Microsoft case, the Microsoft Gaming CEO said that closures are “almost always” because of “leadership leaving (Lionhead as an example) or team just losing its passion (Ensemble as an example).”

    A screenshot taken from emails leaked in the FTC v. Microsoft case.

    A screenshot taken from emails leaked in the FTC v. Microsoft case.

    a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: FTC v. Microsoft

  • Microsoft’s new disc-less Xbox Series X is far from the only news that just leaked out of the FTC v. Microsoft case. The documents may also reveal Microsoft’s far future plans for 2028 — by which the company believed it could achieve “full convergence” of its cloud gaming platform and physical hardware to deliver “cloud hybrid games.”

    “Our vision: develop a next generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences.”

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  • XBox Spencer lede

    XBox Spencer lede

    Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer would really like to buy Nintendo someday. In an August 2020 email to two top Microsoft marketing executives, Spencer wrote that “Nintendo is THE prime asset for us in Gaming” and that “getting Nintendo would be a career moment and I honestly believe a good move for both companies.”

    The emails were revealed as part of a tranche of leaked documents from the FTC v. Microsoft lawsuit. One executive, Takeshi Numoto, asked Spencer and Chris Capossela in an email titled “random thought” about why Microsoft isn’t finding acquisition targets like Nintendo a “more attractive” way to “increase our consumer exposure and relevance.” (At the time, Microsoft was in discussions to acquire TikTok, and Numoto didn’t feel it would be the best match.)

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  • A screenshot from the original Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

    A screenshot from the original Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

    a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Bethesda Softworks

    Before it was acquired by Microsoft, ZeniMax Media, the parent company of studios like Bethesda Game Studios and id Software, was working on remasters of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and a new entry in the Doom franchise, according to new documents revealed as part of FTC v. Microsoft. The games were included in a July 2020 Microsoft presentation about the then-potential ZeniMax acquisition.

    Unannounced games in the presentation include:

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