Quick TakeArticle at a glance
- Microsoft announced a new Xbox XP division on October 8, 2026 , built to turn game franchises like Minecraft, Halo and Gears of War into movies, TV shows, merchandise and live events.
- Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball announced the division in a blog post published Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 9:15 a.m.
- "Great games remain at the center of these franchises and at the heart of Xbox," Ball wrote.
Microsoft announced a new Xbox XP division on October 8, 2026, built to turn game franchises like Minecraft, Halo and Gears of War into movies, TV shows, merchandise and live events. Former Lucasfilm and Mojang president Kayleen Walters, who helped grow Minecraft past 425 million units sold, will run it.
What Xbox Announced
Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball announced the division in a blog post published Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. ET. XP sits alongside Xbox’s game studios rather than inside them, with a mandate to build film, TV, merchandise, live-event and brand-partnership businesses around Xbox’s existing franchises.
“Great games remain at the center of these franchises and at the heart of Xbox,” Ball wrote. “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.”
The Four Arms of XP
| Division | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Xbox Pictures | Film and television adaptations |
| Xbox Products | Merchandise and licensing |
| Xbox Places | Live events, theme parks and location-based experiences |
| Xbox Partnerships | Brand and creator collaborations |
Minecraft’s Playbook, Now Xbox-Wide
XP’s new president, Kayleen Walters, spent 13 years at Lucasfilm before becoming president of Mojang Studios, where she served as an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie. That film crossed $960 million at the worldwide box office in 2025, on top of Minecraft itself passing 425 million copies sold — the exact combination of hit game, hit movie and hit merchandise line that XP is now built to repeat across the rest of Xbox’s catalog.
Microsoft already has a second proof point in Fallout, the Prime Video series based on Bethesda’s game franchise: its first season pulled in more than 65 million viewers in its first 16 days in April 2024, Amazon’s biggest premiere audience at the time.
Which Franchises Could Be Next
Xbox hasn’t announced specific new projects through XP yet, but Ball’s post named the roster the division is built around: Minecraft, Halo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Candy Crush, Diablo, Forza, The Elder Scrolls and Kojima Productions’ Physint. Diablo already has a Netflix series in the works, and Gears of War just shipped its best-reviewed entry since Gears of War 3 with E-Day, so both franchises arrive at XP with existing momentum rather than starting cold.
Why Now
Ball’s post frames XP as part of a push to make Xbox “the number one entertainment company in the world” and reach a billion daily entertainment consumers — explicitly not a side hustle to game sales but a new growth lane for franchises Microsoft already owns outright. Centralizing film, TV, merchandise, live events and partnerships under one division also means a single team now decides which Xbox worlds get the screen treatment next, rather than each studio brokering its own deals.
Gears of War’s E-Day just became the best-reviewed Gears game in over a decade — read our full review-score breakdown — and Diablo’s screen future is already in motion: see what was confirmed about the Diablo Netflix series. Physint is Xbox’s newest franchise, inherited after PlayStation ended its partnership with Kojima Productions: here’s how Physint ended up as an Xbox-published game. Gematsu has Matthew Ball’s full announcement post, and Engadget breaks down the full franchise list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Xbox XP?
Xbox XP is a new Microsoft division, announced October 8, 2026, built to expand Xbox game franchises into film, television, merchandise, live events and brand partnerships. It’s organized into four arms: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places and Xbox Partnerships.
Who runs Xbox XP?
Kayleen Walters is XP’s president. She spent 13 years at Lucasfilm and most recently served as president of Mojang Studios, where she was an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie and helped grow Minecraft past 425 million copies sold.
Which Xbox franchises could get movies or TV shows through XP?
Xbox named Minecraft, Halo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Candy Crush, Diablo, Forza, The Elder Scrolls and Physint as the franchises XP is built around, though no specific new projects have been announced yet.
Is Xbox XP related to the Minecraft movie’s success?
Yes, directly. A Minecraft Movie grossed over $960 million worldwide in 2025 while Kayleen Walters was Mojang’s president, and Microsoft has now put her in charge of applying that same game-to-screen approach across all of Xbox’s franchises.
Does Xbox XP change Xbox’s actual games?
No. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said games remain “at the center of these franchises and at the heart of Xbox” — XP is a new division for everything built around the games, not a change to how the games themselves are made.
