New documents from the Xbox vs FTC case show Microsoft’s thoughts on the PS5, price hikes, Elder Scrolls 6
A slew of documents and charts from the Xbox vs FTC trial confirm previous suspicions and reveal new insights.
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What you need to know
TheXbox vs FTCcase may seem like a distant memory already, seeing as the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to delay Microsoft’s acquisition of publisherActivision Blizzardwas denied. The trial itself revealed a ton of behind-the-scenes information on Xbox and Activision’s operations, as well as trends in the video games industry itself. Now, new information is coming to light that either confirms earlier speculations or simply provides an interesting new perspective on matters.
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To begin with, more documents from the Xbox vs FTC case reveal the initial reaction from various Microsoft and Xbox executives following Sony’s reveal of the PlayStation 5’s specs in an email, as shared viaThe Verge. The email shows an analysis of the PS5’s capabilities, including theXbox Series X’s performance advantage with the CPU and GPU running at higher sustained rates versus the PS5’s variable frequencies. The email goes on to admit that the PS5’s SSD surpasses the Xbox Series X’s in raw throughput and hardware compression.
It’s an interesting email that, while not revealing any new or revelatory information, still provides a peek behind the curtain. You can see the full email below.
A few years later, an email chain reveals Xbox’s reaction to Sony raising the prices of PS5 consoles. Executives reportedly saw it as an opportunity to gain some ground on Sony, with Ami Silverman (then the head of consumer sales and marketing) saying “we know this could be our time to win fans vs lose being a follower.” At the time, this resulted inMicrosoft stating there weren’t any plans to raise Xbox or Xbox Game Pass prices. Of course, another 8 months later would see the companyraise Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass prices in most countries, basically matching what Sony had done previously.
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Another report fromThe Vergeshows an internal Microsoft graph depicting various first-party games from the Bethesda Softworks side of the Xbox family. The graph categorizes each game by whether it’s part of an existing IP, if it supports multiplayer, if it features cross-platform console play, and if it’s available on PlayStation consoles. This includes titles likeDEATHLOOPandGhostwire: Tokyo, both released as timed exclusives for PlayStation, multiplatform releases likeFallout 76andThe Elder Scrolls Online, and first-party exclusives likeRedfallandStarfield.
Most prominently, though, is the inclusion ofThe Elder Scrolls 6, and the seeming confirmation that the upcoming game will release exclusively on Xbox consoles and Windows PC. Of course, this isn’t actually particularly surprising, since it has been heavily suggested in the past by previous interviews, reveals, and more. The news that TES VI is targeting a 2026 or later release also isn’t new, since aMicrosoft lawyer accidentally spilled the beans during the Xbox vs FTC case. Still, this confirmation is just short of an official announcement from Microsoft when considered with everything previous — if you’re a PlayStation-only console player, don’t hold your breath for The Elder Scrolls 6, whenever it eventually arrives.
In other news, thenext generation of Xbox consoles may arrive in 2028and continue Microsoft’s multi-tier strategy, andMicrosoft actively discussed plans to stream PC games from the cloudin addition to thebest Xbox gamesin an effort to compete more directly with the now-defunct Google Stadia. It’s a busy day for Xbox news, eh?
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
