- XP focuses on Xbox Pictures, Products, Places, and Partnerships divisions
- Minecraft success exemplifies Xbox’s strategy to grow franchises beyond gaming
- XP aims to monetize IP through films, merchandise, events, and creative collaborations
Xbox is broadening its business beyond traditional gaming by setting up XP, a dedicated unit aimed at transforming its popular game franchises into wider entertainment brands.
Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball said the new unit is part of the company's broader push to establish itself as a global entertainment powerhouse by expanding its gaming intellectual property into movies, products, experiences and other formats.
Kayleen Walters will head XP as its newly appointed president, overseeing the division's efforts to expand Xbox's franchises into new areas of entertainment. The new unit will consolidate Xbox's efforts across movies and television, merchandise, strategic collaborations and immersive, real-world experiences, according to reports.
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The division will focus on four key areas: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places and Xbox Partnerships. Xbox Pictures will develop film, television and other linear storytelling projects based on the company's gaming properties, the reports stated.
Xbox Products will oversee franchise-based merchandise and other consumer offerings. Meanwhile, Xbox Places will create live events, attractions and immersive fan experiences, while Xbox Partnerships will build collaborations with creators, companies and communities through joint projects and sponsorships.
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The move builds on Xbox's growing success in taking its gaming properties into mainstream entertainment. Minecraft is a prime example of how Xbox can extend a gaming franchise into areas such as movies, merchandise and theme-park attractions.
Walters has extensive experience in building and expanding globally recognised entertainment franchises. She spent 13 years at Lucasfilm before joining Mojang, where she helped oversee the expansion of Minecraft.
During her tenure, Minecraft sales grew from about 350 million copies to more than 425 million, while its merchandising business became one of the world's top 20. A Minecraft Movie also recorded the biggest opening weekend for a video-game adaptation and topped the domestic box office.
Xbox said XP will work closely with its game studios and external creative partners, while keeping games at the centre of its franchises. The division marks a broader strategy to monetise gaming intellectual property across multiple forms of entertainment and deepen engagement with existing and new fans.
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