XBOX has announced XP, a new business division that brand leaders hope will help grow the brand into “the number one entertainment company in the world.” XBOX Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball revealed the new division in a Thursday morning news release.
“Our ambition at XBOX is to be the number one entertainment company in the world. This means growing our games into enduring franchises that entertain, inspire and connect people across every generation and across the globe.
“That opportunity is why we’re creating XP.”
XP — which CEO Asha Sharma explains is a “play on ‘Experience Points'” in a new internal email — will focus on four new investment areas: XBOX PICTURES, XBOX PRODUCTS, XBOX PARTNERSHIPS, and XBOX PLACES.
XBOX PICTURES will focus on film and television adaptations; PRODUCTS will handle licensing and merchandise; PARTNERSHIPS will handle sponsorships and third-party collaborations; and XBOX PLACES will manage XBOX’s “marquee broadcast and in-person events, theme parks, and other location-based experiences.”
XP is the latest part of XBOX’s controversial brand-wide “reset,” announced last July. The changes include numerous studio closures, cancellations of long-awaited projects, and thousands of layoffs.
“These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one,” Sharma explained in a July news release. “The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.”
While it may seem like XBOX wants to put eggs in every entertainment basket, leaders insist games remain central to the brand.
“Great games remain at the center of these franchises and at the heart of XBOX,” Sharma wrote in her email. “XP will partner with the best creative minds across our studios, along with trusted partners, to build on that foundation and create more ways for people to experience the worlds they love.”
XP will also oversee the brand’s highly successful Fallout series on Amazon Prime Video.
XBOX CEO Asha Sharma names XP division leaders
XBOX CEO Asha Sharma announced the new division’s leaders in an internal email on Thursday morning.
Kayleen Walters, a tenured industry executive and president of Minecraft’s Mojang Studios, will lead the new XP division. Walters previously worked at Lucasfilm for 13 years, eventually becoming VP of franchise marketing and integrated planning.
Walters also served as executive producer on the global blockbuster A Minecraft Movie and is producing the sequel.
Walters will “transition from her role at Mojang to President of XP,” and former Meta exec and Reddit CPO Maria Angelidou-Smith will take over for Walters at Mojang. Angelidou-Smith previously led Meta’s Facebook Groups, a social media service “used by more than 1.8 billion people each month, as well as Events, Creators, Search, Profile, and Monetization.” Angelidou-Smith’s first workday is Monday, October 19.
Sharma says both Walters and Angelidou-Smith will report directly to her.
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