Microsoft has identified the leaked Xbox 720 document as a copyrighted "IEB Roadmap", ordering the removal of the document from several websites and, therefore, confirming the document as legit. IEB stands for Interactive Entertainment Business, the Microsoft division responsible for Xbox.
There were rumors, when the 56-page document first surfaced, questioning the authenticity of the document which revealed some potential features including the recently announced Xbox SmartGlass, as well as Blu-Ray support, 3D glasses, a new Kinect, and a focus on cloud-based gaming. While some of these additions look be implemented on the Xbox 360, many of the features could be in reference to the next Xbox 720 console rumored to be in development.
The document was hosted on Scribd and removed upon the request of Covington & Burling LLP, an international law firm that represents Microsoft. Since then, Microsoft has sent takedown notices to any other site hosting the leaked document including Czech Republic tech site Ihned.cz, who received a notice over the weekend from Alan Radford, Internet Investigator on behalf of Microsoft. It read:
Microsoft has received information that the domain listed above, which appears to be on servers under your control, is offering unlicensed copies of, or is engaged in other unauthorized activities relating to copyrighted works published by Microsoft.
1. Identification of copyrighted works:
Copyrighted work(s):
IEB RoadmapCopyright owner:
Microsoft Corporation
2. Copyright infringing material or activity found at the following location(s):
xxxxxxxxxxx-XBox-720-9-24-Checkpoint-Draft-1.pptx
According to The Verge, cloud storage service Dropbox has also received a takedown notice for the document.
Microsoft still hasn't officially commented on the leak, though their refusal to confirm nor deny the legitimacy coupled with this latest report seems to confirm the document is real. The document, dated August 2010, references a next-generation console set for release in 2013, a date that many analysts and rumors have already pointed to.
