We've got more major Xbox news to share today, as a brand-new division called "Xbox XP" has just been announced, spearheaded by a newly-appointed XP President in Kayleen Walters - formerly of Minecraft developer Mojang.

The goal of "Xbox XP" will be to focus on four key investment areas, which are as follows:

  • XBOX PICTURES: Bringing our worlds and characters to new audiences through film, television, and other forms of linear storytelling.
  • XBOX PRODUCTS: Creating products that are authentic to the fandom that allow fans to celebrate and express the franchises they love.
  • XBOX PLACES: Bringing communities together through live events, immersive experiences, attractions, broadcasts, and destinations.
  • XBOX PARTNERSHIPS: Working with creators, brands, and communities to develop new experiences, sponsorships, and brand partnerships.

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has elaborated a bit more on these focuses as well:

"XP is a play on “Experience Points” and formalizes four investment areas for us: XBOX PICTURES for film and television adaptations; XBOX PRODUCTS for licensing and merchandise; XBOX PARTNERSHIPS for sponsors and brand partners; and XBOX PLACES for our marquee broadcast and in-person events, theme parks, and other location-based experiences."

As mentioned, Kayleen Walters will be overseeing Xbox XP in her President role going forward, leaning on her previous experience as Executive Producer on A Minecraft Movie and 13 years at Lucasfilm working on the Star Wars franchise.

"Our franchises can mean more to people than the time they spend playing them, and Kayleen knows how to build those experiences with the industry without losing what made people care about the franchise in the first place."

Meanwhile, former Meta, Personio and Reddit executive Maria Angelidou-Smith is being appointed as CEO of Mojang and Minecraft, with Sharma describing her as someone "who understands how creators, product, technology, and monetization come together" - something that she was particularly interested in for the role.

"Mojang already has an exceptional game development team that knows Minecraft and its players deeply. We wanted someone who has built products for communities at enormous scale, who is deeply technical, and who understands how creators, product, technology, and monetization come together."

So, there we go! We've been hearing for a while now how Xbox has been keen on expanding more into avenues beyond just the games themselves, and with this new Xbox XP division, it'll be fascinating to see how that comes to fruition.

What are your thoughts on this? Tell us down in the comments section below.

[source news.xbox.com]