Xbox has officially unveiled a new division dedicated to film, television, and broader entertainment content, called XP. Announced this week, the branch will be led by Lucasfilm veteran Kayleen Walters, who most recently served as president of Minecraft studio Mojang and worked as an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie. The move marks Xbox’s most ambitious attempt yet to transform itself from a video game company into a full-scale entertainment powerhouse.
The new XP division will concentrate its efforts across four distinct areas: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places, and Xbox Partnerships. According to the company, each pillar is designed to extend Xbox intellectual property beyond screens and controllers into film, merchandise, live experiences, and brand collaborations — a strategy that signals how seriously Microsoft’s gaming arm now treats storytelling outside of games.
A Four-Pillar Approach to Non-Game Content
Xbox Pictures will handle film and television projects as well as other forms of “linear storytelling” built around Xbox IP. Xbox Products is tasked with creating merchandise that the company describes as “authentic to the fandom,” while Xbox Places will organize live events, immersive experiences, theme park attractions, and broadcasts. The fourth pillar, Xbox Partnerships, will work directly with creators, brands, and communities to develop new experiences, sponsorships, and long-term brand partnerships.
The structure suggests a coordinated effort to monetize and expand Xbox franchises across every major entertainment medium simultaneously, rather than pursuing one-off projects. It is also the clearest indication yet that Microsoft intends to treat its intellectual property portfolio as a source of revenue well beyond software sales.
A Leader With a Proven Track Record
Walters brings a strong track record to the role, having overseen significant growth at Mojang during her tenure. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball highlighted these achievements in an official press statement praising her leadership and commercial instincts.
“At Mojang, her record speaks for itself. Under her tenure, Minecraft grew from an already-record setting 350 million units sold to over 425 million, its merchandising business became one of the top 20 globally. A Minecraft Movie had the biggest opening weekend ever for a video game adaptation and finished #1 at the domestic box office, and Mojang secured the first of many theme park placements to come.”
Matthew Ball, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer
The results she oversaw are difficult to dispute. Minecraft became one of the best-selling video games in history under her watch, and its film adaptation set new benchmarks for how game properties can translate to the big screen — exactly the kind of cross-media success that XP now aims to replicate across Xbox’s broader catalog.
A Comeback of Sorts for Multimedia Ambitions
This is not the first time Xbox has attempted a push into multimedia. Back in 2012, the company unveiled Xbox Entertainment Studios with the ambitious aim of producing TV shows that would air directly on its consoles. All of the major Xbox IP were slated to feature in these plans, but the studio was shut down just two years later after failing to find its footing.
In recent years, however, Microsoft has leaned more heavily into being more than a video game company. Halo eventually made its way to television screens, merchandise continues to be a major part of its business model, and the brand has even collaborated with IKEA on furniture lines — all signs that Xbox now sees value in reaching audiences through multiple entertainment channels.
The Kojima Connection
One significant prize for the new division could come from acclaimed director Hideo Kojima. After Sony cancelled plans to fund his stealth-action game Physint, Xbox quickly swooped in to rescue the project. The deal extends beyond games alone; it covers potential TV shows and movies as well.
Kojima’s current projects — including OD — are already envisioned as more than just traditional games, positioning him as an ideal creative partner for XP’s broader ambitions. Death Stranding offers a useful example of how titles like OD and Physint could be expanded across media.
and anime Death Stranding movies are already in the works, alongside an anime series called Death Stranding: Isolations, which will stream exclusively on Disney+ in 2027. Such expansion mirrors how major franchises now generate revenue and cultural relevance well beyond their original game releases.
Ambitious Goals Amid Internal Turmoil
Ball added that Xbox is now aiming to become the “number one entertainment company in the world,” a target that likely ties into Xbox boss Asha Sharma’s stated goals to entertain 1 billion people every day.
entertain 1 billion people every day
At the same time, circumstances behind the scenes at Xbox have been grim. Mass layoffs have seen thousands of staff made redundant across the gaming division, with more cuts reportedly expected to follow. Microsoft has also divested itself of several studios in recent months, including Double Fine and Ninja Theory.
The company continues to with more to come as it restructures its operations around this new creative direction, while Double Fine and Ninja Theory stand among the studios that have already been let go. The contrast between ambitious expansion plans and internal contraction underscores a company in transition — one betting heavily on content beyond games even as it trims its development ranks.
As Xbox positions XP at the center of this strategy, all eyes will be on whether Walters can replicate her Minecraft success across a wider portfolio of franchises. The studio’s ability to balance creative ambition with financial reality in the coming years will determine whether this multimedia gamble pays off or joins the earlier Entertainment Studios experiment as another cautionary tale.
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