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Xbox XP Division Wants to Take Games Beyond the Console
Xbox has created a new division to turn its gaming franchises into broader entertainment properties, spanning movies, television, merchandise, brand collaborations, and even physical attractions. Called XP, the division brings several existing of its current businesses under a single structure, with former Mojang president Kayleen Walters appointed as its president.
The new division will work with studios and outside partners to find new ways for players to experience its characters and worlds beyond games, as the company pursues its ambition of becoming a leading global entertainment business.
The move formalises something Microsoft has already done with properties such as Minecraft, but it could extend that approach to much more of the portfolio.
Wants to Replicate Minecraft’s Success
Walters’ appointment makes the strategy particularly clear. Before moving to XP, she helped expand Minecraft well beyond the game itself, overseeing a consumer products operation spanning more than 250 licensees and serving as executive producer on A Minecraft Movie. She previously spent 13 years at Lucasfilm working across Star Wars films, products and partnerships.
During her tenure, Minecraft grew from 350 million to more than 425 million copies sold, and its merchandising business became one of the world’s 20 largest. The franchise has also expanded into theme park attractions, giving Microsoft a blueprint for what XP could eventually do elsewhere.
That continued growth was already evident when Minecraft was still attracting more than 300,000 first-time players on an average day earlier this year.
Movies, Merchandise and Even Theme Park Attractions
XP is divided into four areas. Xbox Pictures oversees film, television, and other linear storytelling, while Xbox Products handles merchandise and licensed goods. Xbox Places covers live events, immersive experiences, attractions, and destinations, while Xbox Partnerships brings together brand collaborations, sponsorships, and creator projects.
That final category already has some very recent examples. the company’s new YXSTABY collaboration with IKEA turns controller design into furniture and gaming accessories, exactly the type of crossover that will now fall within XP’s broader remit.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft sees opportunities to apply the model across franchises including Fallout, Call of Duty and Candy Crush. Those examples should not be taken as confirmation that specific films, attractions or merchandise lines are already in development. Xbox itself has not announced individual XP projects for those franchises.
What has changed is the infrastructure around them. Instead of treating movies, merchandise or theme parks as occasional extensions of a successful game, the company now has an entire division tasked with figuring out which of its worlds can become something much bigger.
