Xbox’s XP Is A Fancy New Name, But We’re Failing To See What’s Really Different Here

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma continues to reshape the gaming brand, this time with the new XP division. The clever moniker works for Xbox pictures, products, places, and partnerships–the “four investment areas” now overseen by Kayleen Walters (who previously was Mojang Studios president). This all seems like a bigger push into TV, film, and maybe even theme parks for Xbox. But upon closer inspection, there really isn’t anything new here, at least not yet.

There’s nothing about new investments in movies and TV shows with this announcement. There isn’t even the reveal of a new game adaptation for the silver or small screen. Instead, there’s a lot of celebrating what’s been around or in production for years, such as the Call of Duty movie and Fallout: Season 3. We also know A Minecraft Movie Squared is on the way (which should have been called A Nether Minecraft Movie).

In fact, Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball basically admits on Xbox Wire that all of this stuff was already happening at the company: “It brings together capabilities that have existed across various teams at Xbox for years and aligns them behind a shared mission: helping our franchises reach more people, create deeper connections with players and new fans, and unlock new opportunities for these fandoms to grow around the world.”

Maybe this new department will lead to better returns and more Hollywood movies from Xbox in the future. But right now, it seems like reshuffling the same deck of cards. It’s hard not to shake the feeling this is a PR play as an outsider looking in, especially as Xbox continues to close studios and enact mass layoffs.

This also comes days after Sharma reportedly claimed Xbox has “started to return to growth” at a town-hall meeting, without providing any evidence. Then, just today, Circana reported that Xbox hardware unit sales in the US fell 31% this past August when compared to August 2025–and were the lowest since August 2020.