Xbox has introduced a brand‑new XP division that will concentrate on expanding its most popular franchises beyond the console and into other media formats, such as television series, movies, licensed products and even theme‑park attractions. The move is part of a broader strategy to turn Xbox’s intellectual property into full‑scale entertainment experiences that can be enjoyed wherever fans are, whether they are watching a show, shopping for merchandise or strolling through a physical attraction. The XP unit will be overseen by Kayleen Walters, who currently serves as president of Mojang Studios, the studio behind Minecraft.
Walters brings a wealth of experience in franchise development, having spent eight years at Microsoft managing the company’s major gaming brands and a prior 13‑year stint at Lucasfilm where she rose to the position of vice‑president of franchise marketing and integrated planning. In February, she was appointed head of Mojang, succeeding Åsa Bredin, who stepped down to pursue personal goals outside of work. Walters will soon hand over the Mojang presidency to Maria Angelidou‑Smith, a former chief product officer at Reddit who also spent nearly a decade at Facebook before joining the Xbox organization. The new XP division will be organized into four distinct pillars: 1.
**Xbox Pictures** – responsible for adapting Xbox franchises into film and television projects. This includes existing titles such as the Fallout series on Amazon Prime Video and future adaptations like a Gears of War origin story slated for Netflix.
2. **Xbox Products** – will handle licensing agreements, merchandise, and consumer goods that let fans wear, play with, or otherwise own a piece of their favorite worlds.
3. **Xbox Partnerships** – will focus on building relationships with sponsors, brand collaborators, and other strategic partners that can amplify the reach of Xbox IPs.
4. **Xbox Places** – dedicated to location‑based experiences, ranging from live‑broadcast events to permanent attractions such as theme‑park installations. In an internal email circulated to Xbox staff, division head Asha Sharma emphasized the importance of the initiative, stating that Xbox franchises "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 added that Angelidou‑Smith was chosen for her proven ability to build products for massive communities, her technical depth, and her understanding of how creators, technology, product design, and monetisation intersect. One of the first high‑profile projects under the XP umbrella is the Minecraft World theme‑park destination, which will debut at Chessington World of Adventures in the United Kingdom in 2027.
The partnership between Microsoft and Merlin Entertainments, the owner of Chessington, was announced in 2024 and involves an investment of more than $110 million to develop two Minecraft‑themed attractions. Walters explained the collaboration by saying, "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 worldwide within its first ten days of release.
A sequel has already been green‑lit for a July 23, 2027 launch, further cementing Minecraft’s status as a cross‑media powerhouse. Beyond Minecraft, the XP division will manage other transmedia efforts.
The Fallout TV series, which has become a hit on Amazon Prime Video, has already driven a noticeable uptick in sales of the franchise’s back‑catalogue and boosted player numbers for the mobile game Fallout Shelter. Conversely, the Halo TV series on Paramount+ struggled to find an audience and was cancelled after two seasons in 2024. Nevertheless, Xbox remains committed to exploring new formats, with a Gears of War movie currently in development that aims to "tell the origin story of Delta Squad" for a Netflix audience.
The creation of the XP division follows a period of significant restructuring within Microsoft’s gaming business. Earlier this year, Asha Sharma announced a "reset" that resulted in roughly 3,200 job cuts and the divestment of five development studios.
Industry observers, such as Rob Fahey of GamesIndustry.biz, have questioned the ultimate direction of the reset, noting that a clear, public vision for Xbox’s post‑reset future has yet to be articulated. In summary, Xbox’s new XP division represents a concerted effort to transform its most beloved franchises into multi‑dimensional entertainment properties.
By leveraging seasoned leaders like Walters and Angelidou‑Smith, and by establishing dedicated teams for film, merchandise, partnerships and physical experiences, Microsoft aims to keep its IPs relevant and engaging across a wide array of platforms and venues, ensuring that fans can interact with their favorite worlds long after they finish a gaming session.