Xbox Launches XP Division to Expand Games Beyond Consoles

Ever thought your favorite Xbox game could be more than just a game? Well, Xbox is betting big on that idea. The company just dropped a surprise announcement: it's creating a brand-new division called XP, which stands for Experience Points. The goal? To take Xbox's biggest franchises way beyond your console and into movies, TV shows, merch, theme parks, and live events.

Leading this new charge is Kayleen Walters, who previously served as president of Mojang Studios—the team behind Minecraft. She's got serious entertainment chops, having spent 13 years at Lucasfilm working on Star Wars films, products, and brand partnerships. Under her watch at Mojang, Minecraft sales skyrocketed from 350 million to over 425 million copies, and the merchandise business cracked the global top 20. She also executive produced the 2025 Minecraft movie, which pulled in $550 million in just 10 days. A sequel is already set for July 23, 2027.

XP will consolidate several previously scattered Xbox teams into four main pillars: Xbox Pictures (film, TV, and linear storytelling), Xbox Products (licensing and merchandise), Xbox Places (live events, immersive experiences, attractions, theme parks, and big livestreams), and Xbox Partnerships (working with creators, brands, and communities on sponsorships and collabs). The division's name is a nod to the idea that your experience with a game shouldn't be limited to the time you spend actually playing it.

This move is part of Xbox's broader ambition to become "the world's number one entertainment company," according to chief strategy officer Matthew Ball. He emphasized the need to turn games into entertainment franchises that grow across generations and borders. Beyond Minecraft's movie and theme park plans, XP will also oversee the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime Video and the Gears of War live-action film in development at Netflix. But it's not all smooth sailing—the Halo TV series was cancelled in 2024 after two seasons on Paramount+, so maintaining quality while expanding IP will be a key challenge.

With Walters moving to XP, Mojang has a new CEO: Maria Angelidou-Smith. She brings nearly a decade at Meta, where she worked on Facebook Groups (used by over 1.8 billion people monthly), plus stints as product and tech lead at Personio and chief product officer at Reddit. Xbox head Asha Sharma said they wanted someone who's built products for massive communities and understands how creators, product, tech, and monetization fit together—and Angelidou-Smith fits the bill. She officially starts on October 19 and will first focus on learning from the Minecraft team and community.

The timing here is notable. Microsoft's gaming division has been undergoing major adjustments, cutting around 3,200 jobs this year and divesting five studios. So XP represents a big bet on the future of Xbox as an entertainment powerhouse, not just a gaming brand.

What do you think of Xbox's new XP division? Are you excited to see your favorite games turned into movies, theme parks, and more? Let us know in the comments!