Kayleen Walters moves from Mojang to lead the new XP division, which centralizes Xbox work beyond games.
Xbox is launching a division called XP to oversee everything the brand does outside of video games, including film, television, consumer products, live events, and creator partnerships. Work previously spread across separate teams now sits in one centralized group. Chief strategy officer Matthew Ball named four focus areas: pictures, products, places, and partnerships.
Kayleen Walters leads XP as president after running Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft. Maria Angelidou-Smith leaves Reddit, where she was chief product officer, to become CEO of Mojang on October 19th. Microsoft tried a similar push in 2012 with Xbox Entertainment Studios and closed it two years later. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has cut staff, sold studios, and reshaped the studio structure.
XP signals that gaming companies now manage franchises as multi-format portfolios rather than single products. Film, merchandise, and live events each carry their own licensing, production, and approval workflows across legal, marketing, and content teams. Vendors selling rights management or fan commerce tools should expect interest from gaming companies that once did this work in scattered groups.
Xbox has several adaptations in production, including a sequel to A Minecraft Movie, a third season of Prime Video’s Fallout, a Call of Duty film, and a Diablo animated series for Netflix. Ball said great games remain at the center of these franchises. The open question is whether XP builds a durable pipeline or repeats the short life of Xbox Entertainment Studios.
What matters
- Xbox created XP to run films, TV, merchandise, live events, and brand partnerships under one team.
- Game studios increasingly treat franchises as multi-format assets, so licensing and brand teams gain scope.
- Xbox is developing a Minecraft sequel, Fallout season three, a Call of Duty film, and a Diablo series.
Why it matters
Xbox is developing a Minecraft sequel, Fallout season three, a Call of Duty film, and a Diablo series.
This GenAI News article was prepared in original wording using reporting and materials published by The Verge. Source reference: https://www.theverge.com/games/1007602/xbox-xp-division-film-tv-products-events.
Drafted by the GenAI News review pipeline.