Xbox Forms XP Division to Unite Film, TV, Events, Products and Partnerships

Xbox is expanding the structure behind its entertainment ambitions with a new internal division called XP. The organization is being created to connect Xbox franchises with audiences outside traditional gameplay, bringing film and television, licensed products, brand collaborations, live events and immersive experiences under a more unified leadership model.

The announcement places Kayleen Walters, currently president of Mojang, at the head of XP. Walters will move from overseeing the Minecraft studio into a broader Xbox role that covers some of the company's biggest efforts to turn game worlds into entertainment properties with a life beyond consoles and PC screens.

At Mojang, Walters will be succeeded by Maria Angelidou-Smith, previously Reddit's chief product officer. Both executives will report to Xbox head Asha Sharma.

The new division arrives as Xbox is managing an increasingly wide collection of adaptations and franchise extensions. Its stated responsibilities will include projects such as Minecraft Squared, the planned follow-up to A Minecraft Movie; the Fallout television series; the forthcoming Call of Duty film; and an animated Diablo series. XP is also set to oversee major community-facing events including BlizzCon and Minecraft Live.

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What Xbox XP is designed to do

XP is intended to formalize four investment areas that Xbox has already been pursuing in different forms. The first, Xbox Pictures, will focus on taking Xbox worlds and characters into film, television and other linear storytelling formats. In practical terms, that places screen adaptations at the center of the new group's remit rather than treating them as isolated licensing arrangements.

The second area, Xbox Products, will handle consumer products intended to feel authentic to the communities around Xbox franchises. That can encompass the kinds of merchandise that let fans display their enthusiasm for favorite games and characters, but the stated aim is broader than simply putting a logo on an item. The division is being positioned around fandom expression and franchise identity.

Xbox Places will cover live gatherings and physical experiences. Its responsibilities include events, attractions, immersive destinations, broadcasts and other opportunities for communities to come together. With BlizzCon and Minecraft Live named among the projects XP will manage, this part of the organization could have an especially visible role for players who engage with franchises through annual showcases, fan events and live programming.

Finally, Xbox Partnerships will work with brands, creators and communities on new experiences, sponsorships and brand collaborations. That function could touch a large range of projects, from cross-promotional initiatives to relationships with outside entertainment and destination partners. Xbox has specifically indicated that the overall XP organization will handle partnerships involving theme parks and outside brands.

Together, those four pillars show an effort to give the company's growing slate of non-game activity a single home. Rather than viewing a television show, a physical event and a product line as completely separate extensions of a game, XP is structured to coordinate them as related expressions of the same franchise.

Kayleen Walters moves from Minecraft to a wider Xbox role

Walters brings experience in both game-franchise management and entertainment marketing to the position. She has spent eight years at Microsoft, working on Minecraft throughout that period. Her Mojang tenure also included serving as executive producer on A Minecraft Movie, experience that directly connects her to the sort of adaptation work XP is being formed to oversee.

Before joining Microsoft, Walters worked in marketing at Lucasfilm, where she eventually became vice president of franchise marketing and integrated planning. Her background also includes work at MGM and Universal. That combination of game leadership, studio work and franchise marketing makes her a natural fit for a unit designed to coordinate entertainment, fan products, events and partnerships around globally recognized game properties.

The move is notable because Minecraft is one of the clearest examples of a game that has grown into a broad, cross-media brand. The sandbox phenomenon already reaches audiences through games, community programming, physical products and a theatrical film, and the newly announced Minecraft Squared sequel will be among XP's early headline projects. Walters' involvement with the first film gives XP continuity as it begins managing the next stage of Minecraft's screen presence.

For Xbox, the appointment also signals that XP is not merely a small licensing office. Placing a sitting studio president in charge, especially one with extensive experience across entertainment companies, indicates the company sees franchise expansion as a substantial part of its future organization.

Maria Angelidou-Smith becomes Mojang president

Angelidou-Smith will take over leadership at Mojang after serving as chief product officer at Reddit. The leadership transition comes as Mojang remains responsible for one of gaming's most recognizable and enduring franchises, with Minecraft continuing to operate across games, community activity and major media projects.

While Walters' new job widens her focus to multiple Xbox properties, Angelidou-Smith's appointment gives Mojang a new president as the studio enters a period in which Minecraft's game business and its expanding entertainment footprint will need to remain closely aligned. XP's oversight of Minecraft Squared, Minecraft Live and associated partnerships means Mojang and the new division will have clear reasons to work closely together even after the handover.

Both appointments report upward to Sharma, placing the studio transition and the new XP structure within the same Xbox leadership chain. That arrangement may help Xbox coordinate decisions that affect a game's core audience alongside decisions involving adaptation, consumer products or major fan experiences.

A growing slate of adaptations and franchise projects

The projects listed for XP illustrate the scale of the portfolio it will inherit. Minecraft Squared will continue the company's film work around Minecraft. The Fallout TV series represents another major screen extension of a game universe with a long history and an established audience. A Call of Duty movie and an animated Diablo project add two more very different franchises to the division's slate.

Those properties each call for different approaches. Minecraft's appeal is rooted in creativity and accessibility, while Fallout is built around a distinct retro-futurist setting, Call of Duty is associated with blockbuster military action, and Diablo is a darker fantasy series. The value of a central XP organization may be its ability to support shared business goals while allowing each franchise to maintain its own tone, audience expectations and creative identity.

Xbox has also said XP will collaborate with Hideo Kojima on Physint, the action-adventure stealth game intended to combine elements of video games with film, television and music. The project had previously been associated with Sony before being picked up by Xbox earlier this year. Its hybrid ambitions make it a particularly fitting collaboration for a division created to bridge interactive games and other entertainment forms.

That does not mean every XP project will take the same path. A film sequel, animated series, ongoing television show, fan convention and a game designed around multiple media influences all involve different production schedules and creative processes. What XP provides is an umbrella for Xbox's efforts to manage those projects as part of larger franchise strategies.

Live communities matter alongside screen adaptations

The XP announcement is about more than Hollywood-style adaptations. Its inclusion of BlizzCon, Minecraft Live, attractions and destination partnerships underlines the importance of real-time fan engagement. Events can bring players together in ways that a game launch or streaming release cannot, while broadcasts can create recurring moments for community news, developer updates and celebrations.

BlizzCon carries particular significance as a gathering point for Blizzard communities, while Minecraft Live has become a key showcase for Minecraft announcements and audience participation. Placing both under XP suggests Xbox is treating these events as meaningful parts of its entertainment strategy rather than simply marketing support for game releases.

The same applies to consumer products and physical attractions. For players, a franchise connection may be expressed through attending an event, following an adaptation, collecting an item or visiting an immersive destination as much as through buying or playing a game. XP is designed around the idea that those touchpoints can reinforce one another.

What the new structure means for Xbox

The creation of XP gives Xbox a dedicated framework for a business reality that has become increasingly important across the games industry: successful franchises can travel across formats. Film and TV adaptations can introduce a game universe to new audiences, while live events and products can give existing fans additional ways to participate in a community.

There are still many open questions around individual projects, including their eventual release timing and the specific form that future partnerships or experiences will take. Xbox has not used this announcement to provide dates, pricing or detailed availability plans for the projects within XP's portfolio. The immediate news is organizational, but the unit's work will likely be judged by how effectively it supports the games and communities at the heart of those franchises.

For now, XP consolidates a broad range of efforts under Walters' leadership, while Angelidou-Smith assumes the Mojang presidency. With Minecraft, Fallout, Call of Duty, Diablo, Blizzard events and the Kojima collaboration all within its orbit, the new division has been handed a high-profile set of responsibilities from the outset.