Microsoft leak confirms Phil Spencer wanted to buy Nintendo and Valve

The Microsoft FTC leaks suggest that Xbox boss Phil Spencer was reportedly interested in acquiring Nintendo and Valve.

That comes from a fresh round of leaks from non-redacted court documents about the US Federal Trade Commission's case against Microsoft over its deal to buy Activision Blizzard.

In one of those documents, we see an email exchange between Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, chief marketing officer Chris Capossela, and commercial chief marketing officer Takeshi Numoto from 2020. Loosely titled "random thought," the trio talks up the odds of pulling an ambitious acquisition of Nintendo off, which Spencer says would be "a career moment" if it came to pass.

Less is said of Valve, though Spencer does mention the Steam storefront operator and games developer alongside Nintendo as, at that point, Microsoft had seen a full write-up on the pair and would fully support an acquisition if the chance arises.

We also see firmer talk of ZeniMax and Warner Bros Interactive, with the former deal eventually going through.

"Takeshi, I totally agree that Nintendo is the prime asset for us in Gaming and today Gaming is our most likely path to consumer relevance," Spencer says. "I've had numerous conversations with the LT of Nintendo about tighter collaboration and feel like if any US company would have a chance with Nintendo we are probably in the best position. The unfortunate (or fortunate for Nintendo) situation is that Nintendo is sitting on a big pile of cash, they have a BoD that until recently has not pushed for further increases in market growth or stock appreciation.

"I say 'until recently' as our former MS BoD member ValueAct has been heavily acquiring shares of Nintendo and I've kept in touch with Mason Morfit as he's been acquiring. It's likely he will be pushing for more from Nintendo stock which could create opportunities for us. Without that catalyst, I don't see an angle to a near-term mutually agreeable merger of Nintendo and MS and I don't think a hostile action would be a good move so we are playing the long game. But our BoD has seen the full write-up on Nintendo (and Valve) and they are fully supportive on either if opportunity arises as am I."

That's not all that's come from the raft of unredacted court documents, either. A view of Bethesda's plans lists Oblivion and Fallout 3 remasters as reportedly in development, though it's worth noting that timelines and plans may have shifted with time. Additionally, and Xbox Series X refresh, codenamed 'Brooklin', has been revealed. Slated for a 2024 launch, it boasts improved storage, no disk drive, and a new, cylindrical design.

Here's a list of confirmed upcoming Xbox Series X games.

I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.