Xbox has formed a new division, XP, to manage all non-game ventures tied to its properties — spanning film, TV, physical products, live events and creator partnerships — and placed Mojang president Kayleen Walters in charge.

Walters, who has spent nearly a decade at Microsoft working on Minecraft and served as executive producer of A Minecraft Movie, will report directly to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma under the new structure. Replacing her at Mojang is Maria Angelidou-Smith, former chief product officer at Reddit, who also reports to Sharma.

What does the XP division actually cover?

XP stands for four operational pillars, each carrying the same initials:

• Xbox Pictures — investment and management of film and TV projects
• Xbox Products — physical merchandise described as "authentic to the fandom"
• Xbox Places — live events, broadcasts and in-person experiences
• Xbox Partnerships — creator-focused sponsorships and collaborations

The name doubles as gaming shorthand for "Experience Points," a nod the company leans into given the division's emphasis on live experiences.

Who is Kayleen Walters?

Walters brings an unusual dual background for the role. Her entire Microsoft tenure has centered on Minecraft, culminating in the Mojang presidency and the executive producer credit on A Minecraft Movie. Before Microsoft, she worked in film marketing at Lucasfilm, MGM and Universal — a résumé that maps closely onto the transmedia mandate XP now carries.

Which projects fall under XP?

The division will oversee a slate that extends well beyond game development:

• Minecraft Squared, the sequel to A Minecraft Movie
• The Fallout TV series produced with Amazon
• The recently announced Diablo animated series
• Physical events including BlizzCon and Minecraft Live

How does XP fit the broader Xbox 'reset'?

The announcement lands weeks after Microsoft's Xbox "reset" initiative eliminated thousands of jobs across the division, triggered multiple studio divestments and pushed some studios toward closure. As part of that restructuring, CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty outlined a priority framework that places major franchises at the center of the business and extends transmedia plans for properties like Minecraft.

Today's move operationalizes that strategy: rather than treating film, merchandise and events as ad-hoc extensions of individual game teams, Xbox now has a dedicated corporate unit with a single executive accountable for all of it.

For studios and teams still inside Xbox, the signal is that resource concentration on franchise-level exploitation — not portfolio breadth — is the operating principle. For external partners in film, TV and live events, XP consolidates the point of contact for Xbox IP into one division.

What comes next?

The immediate tests of the new structure are already on the calendar: production on Minecraft Squared and the Diablo animated series will show whether XP can convert Xbox's franchise strategy into shipped transmedia products — and whether Walters' film background translates into greenlight discipline at divisional scale.