Xbox has introduced a fresh business unit called XP, whose sole purpose is to expand its beloved franchises beyond the screen and into other media such as television, movies, merchandise, and even theme‑park attractions. The move signals a clear intent to turn gaming IPs into full‑blown entertainment ecosystems that can be experienced in a variety of settings. The XP unit will be overseen by Kayleen Walters, who currently serves as president of Mojang Studios, the team behind Minecraft. Walters brings a deep background in franchise development, having spent eight years at Microsoft shaping its gaming portfolio and a prior thirteen‑year stint at Lucasfilm where she rose to vice‑president of franchise marketing and integrated planning.
In February, Walters stepped into the Mojang presidency, succeeding Åsa Bredin, who left to pursue personal interests outside the company. Walters will vacate the Mojang role later this year, and Microsoft has tapped Maria Angelidou‑Smith to replace her.
Angelidou‑Smith arrives from Reddit, where she was chief product officer, and before that she spent nearly a decade at Facebook, giving her a strong track record of building products for massive online communities. The XP division will be organized into four distinct pillars.
"Xbox Pictures" will handle film and television adaptations of Xbox‑owned properties, ensuring that stories translate well to the small and big screen. "Xbox Products" will focus on licensing deals, consumer merchandise, and other tangible extensions of the brands.
"Xbox Partnerships" will cultivate relationships with sponsors and other brands that can amplify the reach of Xbox IPs. Finally, "Xbox Places" will be responsible for location‑based experiences, ranging from live‑broadcast events to permanent attractions such as theme parks. Asha Sharma, Xbox’s senior leader, communicated the rationale for the new unit in an internal email to staff. She emphasized that the emotional connection players have with Xbox franchises often exceeds the time they actually spend playing the games.
According to Sharma, Walters "knows how to build those experiences with the industry without losing what made people care about the franchise in the first place." When discussing Angelidou‑Smith’s appointment, Sharma added that the company needed someone who could blend technical expertise, community‑centric product design, and monetisation insight—qualities that Angelidou‑Smith embodies. One of the first high‑profile projects under XP is the Minecraft World theme‑park destination slated to open at Chessington World of Adventures in the United Kingdom in 2027. The partnership, announced at Minecraft Live in September, pairs Microsoft with Merlin Entertainments, the owner of Chessington, which invested more than $110 million to develop two Minecraft‑themed attractions. Walters highlighted the synergy: "We are everywhere digitally, Merlin is everywhere physically.
It’s about how we expand Minecraft beyond the game. Mojang and Microsoft are experts on Minecraft and the brand, Merlin are the experts on location‑based experiences; it’s a shared vision." Walters also served as executive producer on the 2025 "A Minecraft Movie," which earned $550 million in its first ten days of theatrical release.
A sequel has already been green‑lit for a July 23, 2027 launch, underscoring the franchise’s viability as a multi‑platform property. Beyond Minecraft, the XP division will supervise other transmedia efforts. The Fallout television series, which airs on Amazon Prime Video, continues to draw strong viewership and has sparked a noticeable uptick in sales of older Fallout titles as well as increased activity in the mobile game Fallout Shelter.
By contrast, the Halo TV adaptation struggled, lasting only two seasons on Paramount+ before its cancellation in 2024. Meanwhile, a Gears of War movie currently in development for Netflix aims to explore the origin story of the series’ iconic Delta Squad.
The creation of the XP unit arrives amid a broader restructuring of Microsoft’s gaming business. Earlier this year, Sharma announced a "reset" that resulted in roughly 3,200 job cuts and the divestiture of five studios.
Industry observers, such as Rob Fahey of GamesIndustry.biz, have questioned the ultimate direction of the reset, noting that a concrete, public vision for Xbox’s post‑reset future has yet to be articulated. In summary, Xbox’s XP division is designed to turn its most successful game franchises into cross‑media powerhouses. By appointing seasoned leaders like Walters and Angelidou‑Smith, the company signals a commitment to leveraging deep industry expertise, community‑focused product development, and strategic partnerships.
Whether through blockbuster films, streaming series, licensed merchandise, or immersive theme‑park experiences, Xbox aims to keep its IPs in the public eye and generate new revenue streams long after the controller is set down. The long‑term success of this strategy will depend on how well the new unit can balance creative integrity with commercial ambition, a challenge that will unfold over the coming years as projects like Minecraft World, the Minecraft sequel, and the upcoming Gears of War film move from concept to reality.