Xbox forms XP division to push its games into film, TV
Xbox has set up a new unit called XP to put its games in movies, TV shows, stores and live events. For fans, that could mean more Halo, Fallout or Call of Duty away from the console. Mojang president Kayleen Walters will run it, and Maria Angelidou-Smith, a former Reddit product chief, takes over Mojang on Oct. 19.
Xbox has created a new division called XP to carry its game worlds beyond the console. The company announced it on Thursday, Oct. 8. XP will cover film and TV adaptations, consumer products, brand deals and live events, The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter reported.
XP is short for "Experience Points." It has four parts: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Partnerships and Xbox Places. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball laid out the plan in a blog post, according to The Verge and Polygon. "Great games remain at the center of these franchises and at the heart of XBOX," Ball wrote.
Kayleen Walters will lead XP as president. She ran Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, and spent 13 years at Lucasfilm working on Star Wars films, toys and deals. That is according to a staff memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma that The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap published. Walters was an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie and is a producer on its sequel.
Maria Angelidou-Smith replaces her as CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on Oct. 19. She spent nearly a decade at Meta and later worked at Personio and Reddit, the memo says. Both women will report to Sharma, Polygon and TheWrap reported.
XP is not a production company. The Hollywood Reporter said it will pair Xbox games with outside studios. Projects already in the works include a Minecraft movie sequel, a third season of Prime Video's Fallout, a Call of Duty film from Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg, and a Diablo cartoon series for Netflix.
The move follows a hard year inside Xbox. Since Sharma took over in February, the company has made deep layoffs and closed studios, The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter reported. TheWrap said Xbox cut 268 more jobs just over a month ago and moved the next Halo game to Activision.
Microsoft has tried Hollywood before. It set up a studio called Xbox Entertainment Studios to make shows from its games, then shut it down. The Verge dates that studio to 2012, while Polygon says it was founded in early 2013. Both say it closed within about two years.
What we know: Xbox has formed XP under Walters, with four parts covering screen, products, partnerships and events, and Angelidou-Smith starts at Mojang on Oct. 19.
What we don't: Xbox has not named any new film or TV project from XP, or said how many people will work in the division.
Where outlets agree The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter both report that Mojang president Kayleen Walters will lead XP and that Maria Angelidou-Smith takes over Mojang.
Where they differ The Verge says Microsoft set up its earlier Xbox Entertainment Studios in 2012, while Polygon says that studio was founded in early 2013.