Xbox Creates New ‘XP’ Division Focused on Movies, TV, Live Events, and Partnerships

Microsoft is moving forward with its major Xbox reset, and the next step is launching a new ‘XP’ division focused on non-gaming transmedia experiences, products, live events, and brand partnerships. Kayleen Walters, former President of Mojang Studios, will lead the new Xbox XP division and report directly to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.

“XP is a play on “Experience Points” and formalizes four investment areas for us: XBOX PICTURES for film and television adaptations; XBOX PRODUCTS for licensing and merchandise; XBOX PARTNERSHIPS for sponsors and brand partners; and XBOX PLACES for our marquee broadcast and in-person events, theme parks, and other location-based experiences. Our franchises can mean more to people than the time they spend playing them, and Kayleen knows how to build those experiences with the industry without losing what made people care about the franchise in the first place,” Sharma said today.

The launch of this new XP division is a throwback to the Xbox One era when Microsoft created and Xbox Entertainement Studios subsidiary to work on original films and series. The division closed in 2014, a couple of months after Phil Spencer became CEO of Xbox, but Asha Sharma seems to have much bigger ambitions for the Xbox brand beyond gaming.

On the movies and TV shows front, the new Xbox leadership team may want to capitalize on the success of the Minecraft movie and the Fallout TV show to bring Xbox IPs to new audiences. The new XP division will also allow Microsoft to try new things in merchandising and in-person experiences.

With Kayleen Walters transitioning to her new President of XP role, Sharma has also hired Maria Angelidou-Smith, Chief Product Officer at Reddit, as the new CEO of Mojang and Minecraft, reporting directly to her. Sharma highlighted that Angelidou-Smith also worked at Meta for almost a decade to work on Facebook Groups, Events, monetization, and more. “Maria brings deep experience to Mojang, along with a respect for what makes Minecraft special. Her first priority will be learning from the teams and communities who know Minecraft best,” Sharma said today.