New Xbox division will focus on TV and film adaptations of its biggest franchises
Products and events will also be part of XP’s strategy.
A new division of Xbox called XP will focus on growing the fan bases of its various gaming properties across television, movies, merchandise and events. Announced in a blog post by Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball, XP will apparently play an important role in the company’s plan to become “the world’s number one entertainment company,” with the lofty ambition of entertaining a billion people every day.
Microsoft hasn’t associated this news with the announcement of new films or globe-trotting gigs, but we have a pretty good idea of how the new gaming-adjacent division will work. XP’s mission will be to introduce “Xbox worlds and characters to new audiences through film, television and other forms of linear storytelling”, as well as attract the existing Xbox community through “authentic” product launches, live events and attractions. The division will also look to form partnerships with designers and brands.
XP will be led by Kayleen Walters, who worked at Lucasfilm for 13 years before joining Microsoft and ultimately becoming president of Minecraft Mojang studio. Walters also served as executive producer of last year’s box office smash (and notably not great) film. A Minecraft movieand is named producer of the upcoming sequel. A Minecraft A theme park is expected to open in the UK next year, the promotion of which probably now also falls under XP’s remit.
Microsoft doubling down on its transmedia strategy is no surprise considering its vast library of intellectual property. The live-action Halo show may not have gone as well as it would have liked, but Prime Video To fall was a pretty big success, while an eventual Call of Duty movie was surely inevitable as soon as the ink was dry on the company’s acquisition of Activision.
According to The Hollywood Reporterthere are plans to adapt games like Gears of War, Candy Crush, Diablo, Forza and The Elder Scrolls in the future. Xbox also announced plans to collaborate with Kojima Productions on television and film projects after claiming publishing rights to the game. Solid metal gear the creator’s next action-espionage game, Physintafter Sony surprisingly dropped it.
