Xbox has formalized its plans to extend its video games to places like film and TV via a new division called XP. As part of this, the company is also branching out further into the world of theme parks, though that may not be very surprising or exciting.
Xbox CTO Scott Van Vliet said in a post that “theme parks” will be part of the new XP division. This followed a post from Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball who said the upcoming Minecraft theme park initiative represents “the first of many theme park placements to come.”
Microsoft has been working on theme park plans for a long time already, having announced plans for a Minecraft theme park back in 2024. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that the park will open in the UK next year with themed food.
Xbox is following Nintendo’s playbook here, as the Japanese gaming giant brought its franchises, including Mario and Donkey Kong, to Universal Studios theme parks in the US and Japan already.
People should not hold out hope for a dedicated Xbox theme park, though. Ball’s wording specifically was that there will be additional “theme park placements” for Xbox in the future. This suggests Xbox franchises could show up in existing parks, as opposed to Microsoft breaking ground on its own dedicated theme park for Xbox. This is how it works with Nintendo, too, as the Super Nintendo World attractions exist within the wider Universal Studios parks.
The Minecraft theme park, too, will exist within Chessington World of Adventures in the UK when it opens next year.
The new XP division at Xbox will include four sub-divisions focused on bringing Xbox franchises to areas like film and TV, consumer products, live events, and brand partnerships. Xbox, of course, already did all of this, but now it’s formalized under the XP banner. Kayleen Walters, formerly the president of Minecraft and a former Lucasfilm executive, is running XP.