Xbox Is Going Hollywood With a New Division Built for Movies, TV and More

Xbox isn’t satisfied with living inside your console anymore.

Microsoft’s gaming brand is expanding deeper into movies, television, merchandise, live events and other forms of entertainment with the launch of a new division called XP — short for “Experience Points.”

The goal is pretty straightforward: take Xbox’s biggest franchises and find new ways for fans to experience them when they’re not holding a controller.

XP will be led by Kayleen Walters, president of Minecraft studio Mojang and an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie and its upcoming sequel. Walters also previously worked at Lucasfilm as Vice President of Franchise Marketing, giving Xbox someone with plenty of experience turning major properties into much bigger entertainment brands.

Xbox Wants Its Games to Become Full Entertainment Franchises

According to Walters, XP was built around the idea that popular video game worlds can reach audiences far beyond the games themselves.

And Xbox certainly has enough characters and franchises to work with.

The company controls an enormous catalog that includes:

• Halo

• Fallout

• Call of Duty

• Diablo

• Warcraft

• Gears of War

• Forza

• The Elder Scrolls

• Candy Crush

That leaves Xbox with plenty of possibilities for movies, television shows, merchandise, attractions and fan experiences.

We've already seen what can happen when those properties make the jump.

A Minecraft Movie became a massive theatrical success, earning more than $960 million worldwide, while Amazon’s Fallout series became one of the more successful examples of turning a video game into prestige television.

Now Xbox wants more of that.

Call of Duty, Diablo and More Are Already Moving Beyond Games

Several projects connected to Xbox properties are already taking shape.

A Call of Duty movie involving Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg is in development, while Netflix has announced plans for an animated Diablo series.

There could also be opportunities surrounding Hideo Kojima’s upcoming PHYSINT, which has already been discussed as a project capable of expanding beyond gaming.

Meanwhile, Amazon is continuing Fallout, giving Xbox one of its strongest television franchises before XP has even really gotten started.

XP is organizing that expansion around four areas:

Pictures. Products. Partnerships. Places.

In other words, Xbox isn’t only thinking about movies and television. The company is looking at everything from merchandise and brand collaborations to live experiences where fans can physically step into these worlds.

XP Won't Actually Make the Movies

One important detail: XP isn't becoming its own movie studio.

Instead, the division will help match Xbox franchises with filmmakers, studios and creative teams that make sense for each property.

That could prove important.

Video game adaptations have historically been difficult because fans have spent hundreds — sometimes thousands — of hours inside these worlds. They know the characters, mythology and details incredibly well.

Change too much and fans immediately notice.

Halo is probably the biggest warning sign.

Paramount's Halo television series received a mixed reaction from longtime fans and was canceled after two seasons. With Xbox now building a division specifically focused on protecting and expanding its franchises, it raises an obvious question:

Could Halo eventually get another shot?

Considering the franchise remains one of Xbox's most recognizable properties, don't be surprised if someone eventually tries.

Xbox Is Building Something Much Bigger Than a Gaming Brand

XP represents another major change in how Xbox sees itself.

For decades, Xbox meant consoles, controllers and video games.

Now Microsoft appears to be thinking more like Disney, Nintendo and other companies that treat their characters and fictional worlds as entertainment franchises capable of existing everywhere.

That means games.

Movies.

Streaming shows.

Merchandise.

Live events.

And potentially attractions or immersive experiences.

There is definitely risk involved. Expanding too quickly can dilute a franchise, especially when fans already have strong expectations about how these characters should be treated.

But Xbox also owns one of the strongest collections of gaming properties in the industry.

If XP can pair the right creators with the right franchises, the next major video game movie or television phenomenon might already be sitting inside your Xbox library.

And somewhere right now, Halo fans are probably asking the same question:

Can Master Chief please get one more chance?