Xbox currently has a mystery sequel in development that could take as long as a decade to make, it’s been revealed.
As spotted byAxios’Stephen Totilo, the game was mentioned in court documents relating to an ongoing legal challenge in which a group of self-indentified gamersare trying to block Microsoft’s acquisitionofActivision Blizzard.
At one point the document explains that triple-A games can take a long time to make, usingHalo Infiniteas an example (though the length and cost of development is redacted).
It then says: “For instance, according to oneMicrosoftexecutive, [redacated], a forthcoming title from the [redacted] franchise, may take a decade to develop.”
It’s not clear if this is a completely new game that hasn’t yet been announced, or something players already know about, such asThe Elder Scrolls 6, whichwas announced at E3 2018and is therefore seemingly at least five years into development.
Bethesda‘sTodd Howardsaid in 2021 that it was “good to think of The Elder Scrolls 6as still being in a design [phase]“, suggesting theXboxexclusive is still some years away.
Most intriguing redactions from last week’s amended complaint in the gamer lawsuit agains the Microsoft-Activision deal:- A Microsoft franchise sequel on a possible 10-year dev cycle- A presumably detailed explanation of something bad from May 2022 (Redfall/Starfield delay?)pic.twitter.com/OJETHAy8MM
The case the document comes from involves a private anti-trust action that has been brought by 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey.
Last December theyfiled a complaint in a federal court in California, arguing that Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard could substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly in violation of the Clayton Act.
Further reading
The case was dismissed in March after US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley found it failed to present sufficient evidence to support their claims.
However, the plaintiffs were given 20 days to refine their legal challenge and earlier this month filedan amended lawsuitcontaining redacted information from Microsoft, including a strategy memo, and new information from the deal’s chief opponent,Sony Interactive Entertainment.
