Microsoft’s ongoing court battle against the FTC continues to make headlines with some sensational reveals of things the company would have definitely preferred to keep under wraps.
It all boils down to Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which would put the likes of Call of Duty under its control, and has led to complaints from rivals, namely Sony, that they would be impacted by such a monopoly.
Microsoft is battling vehemently against those claims and there has been a wide array of internal documents that have been shared as evidence, which have revealed some pretty huge pieces of news—and the latest round of reveals on Sept. 18 was particularly massive.
If you’re worried you might have missed a piece of significant news, then you can catch up on all the headlines below.
Phil Spencer dreams of Nintendo purchase
If Phil Spencer has his way, there will be a huge marriage of Microsoft and Nintendo, with the latter described as “the prime asset” by the Microsoft Gaming CEO—and any purchase of Nintendo already has the approval of Microsoft’s board, according to the recently shared documents.
While Spencer may believe it would be “a good move for both companies,” such a partnership is highly unlikely to occur given Nintendo’s success and, perhaps more importantly, the fact that it is no longer solely focused on games.
Spencer admitted an agreement was highly unlikely and advised against a “hostile move,” instead advising to play the long game. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be a far, far longer waiting game than he’d like.
Fallout 3 and Oblivion remastered
Microsoft and Xbox are flying high after the release of Starfield and, while it’s going to be a while before we see The Elder Scrolls 6, it seems fans will have plenty to keep them occupied in the meantime.
Documents shared in the trial showed that remasters for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 are in the cards—or at least once were, as they are on the older side and plans may well have changed.
The age of the documents, from August 2020, is shown by the fact that Starfield was slated on the schedule for a release in 2021. It was, of course, only released this month.
Starfield was planned for PS5
From the same document that detailed remasters for Bethesda titles Oblivion and Fallout 3, it was also shown that there was a period when Starfield was set for a PlayStation release too and was not a Microsoft exclusive.
That’s not too surprising considering the August 2020 date of the document places it before Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, which occurred in March 2021. But the fact that the document had Starfield as a 2021 release suggests the decision to neglect PlayStation took place very late in development.
Few can begrudge Microsoft’s exclusivity decision, however, particularly as it has fared much worse in comparison to Sony with the success of its exclusive titles.
Xbox’s plans for mid-gen hardware update
With the Xbox Series X|S now in its third year, it’s unsurprising that Microsoft is planning a mid-gen hardware refresh for its consoles with a new version of the console launching—just like we saw in the previous era of Microsoft gaming with the Xbox One X.
Dubbed “Brooklin,” the proposed newer version of the Xbox Series X will supposedly feature 2TB storage, faster Wi-Fi capabilities, and will use less power, according to the documents. Interestingly, the new Xbox may not even be a box at all, instead featuring a cylindrical design.
The price point for the revamped version of Xbox Series X is said to be $499, the same price that the current console can be purchased at, and will be a digital-only console. Its proposed release date is in October 2024.
Elder Scrolls 6 is still years away
Anyone hoping for a quick turnaround from Bethesda following the release of Starfield is likely to be disappointed as it will be a few years at least until players get their hands on The Elder Scrolls VI.
Documents say the release window for the latest entry in the long-running series will not occur until 2026 and, rather unsurprisingly, The Elder Scrolls VI will be a Microsoft exclusive and will not be on PlayStation.
There is still plenty of time for that to change, although it seems unlikely given Xbox’s firm stance with Starfield.
Next-gen Xbox console to bring ‘hybrid computing’
Microsoft’s plans beyond Xbox Series X|S have seemingly been laid bare with proposed plans for the next generation of Xbox consoles, which documents detail are slated to launch in 2028—meaning we’ll be on the current gen for another five years.
The company has high, high hopes for that era of gaming, with the plan to have “full convergence” of its cloud gaming platform and physical hardware to result in “an entirely new class of game experiences.”
It’s proposed that you could play these games on a device costing less than $99 and it’s xCloud platform simultaneously, something that Microsoft has already started to branch into with the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator—where scenery is streamed to your console from the cloud, rather than from your console or PC.
The timeline, shown by the documents, has dev kits arriving in 2027, with the first hybrid cloud games starting to be produced from as early as next year.
Published: Sep 19, 2023 10:14 am