Xbox Creates XP Division for Non-Gaming Experiences
A new Xbox unit named XP will handle Xbox activities beyond gaming, such as movie and TV adaptations, merchandise, live events, and collaborations with creators and brands. Work that had been handled by separate Xbox teams will now be consolidated under XP. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball wrote in a blog post that XP organizes four investment areas: Xbox Pictures, which brings characters and worlds to new viewers via film, television, and other linear formats; Xbox Products, which offers merchandise tied to fan-favorite franchises; Xbox Places, which covers live events, immersive attractions, broadcasts, and destinations; and Xbox Partnerships, which works with creators, brands, and communities on experiences, sponsorships, and brand deals.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
Kayleen Walters, who currently heads Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, will serve as president of XP. Maria Angelidou-Smith will take over Mojang's leadership, leaving her post as Reddit's chief product officer to become CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on October 19th.[S1][S6]
Existing Adaptations and Leadership Context
Xbox already has multiple film and TV projects in the works, such as a follow-up to the hit A Minecraft Movie, a third season of Prime Video's live-action Fallout show, a Call of Duty movie, and a Diablo animated series for Netflix. In his blog post, Ball stated that strong games stay central to these franchises and to Xbox itself, and that XP will collaborate with top creative talent across Xbox studios and trusted partners to expand on that base and give people more ways to engage with the worlds they enjoy.[S1]
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also emailed employees about the changes. She had earlier told staff that the company would create long-term strategies for Xbox franchises spanning film, television, consumer products, sponsorship, and live experiences as part of her wider overhaul of the Xbox business. Since she took over in February, Sharma has carried out major layoffs, divested studios, and significantly restructured Xbox's studio operations, including assigning Activision to oversee Halo. Back in 2012, Microsoft created Xbox Entertainment Studios to produce film and TV adaptations of Xbox games, only to close it two years later.[S1]
