Xbox, currently in the midst of multi-round mass layoffs as part of a plan to let a final total of 3200 people go, have announced a new arm of their business which is firmly aimed at milking more cash out of its blockbuster game series via licensing deals. That likely means more stuff along the lines of the recent money-making Minecraft movie and Fallout TV show, though apparently not money-making enough to convince them their game-making business didn’t need slashing to the bone. Meanwhile, Minecraft developers Mojang have a new boss who previously spent a decade working on Facebook at Meta.
The new division, headed by former Mojang president Kayleen Walters, “brings together capabilities that have existed across various teams at XBOX for years” Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball wrote in an announcement post. “Great games remain at the center of these franchises and at the heart of Xbox,” he 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 new division has four areas of focus: Xbox Pictures (film and TV adaptations), Xbox Products (merch), Xbox Places (live events and theme park-esque attractions), and Xbox Partnerships (sponsorships and other collaborations with the likes of YouTubers and brands).
Xbox boss Asha Sharma previously told the New York Times, while insisting Microsoft aren’t currently looking to sell Xbox, that management would “look at the right partnerships” and “the right operating model” to set Xbox up for success going forwards. Wringing more regular cash out of tentpole series like Fallout and Minecraft’s the current strategy, and so it makes sense the company would want to push harder in terms of licensing those out for whatever tie-in products are out there, alongside making moves like sticking Obsidian on a new Fallout game under Bethesda’s watch.
There’s an argument that the studios and game series Xbox have left in the dust as part of that job loss-heavy shift might have been more valuable if Microsoft had gone harder on licensing earlier. Rather than just the odd movie or TV show for the top of the top, perhaps Psychonauts or South of Midnight would have been more successful if XP had been actively pitching Hollywood and streaming services on doing something with Double Fine or Compulsion.
In a separate post put out alongside the XP announcement, Sharma herself revealed Walters’ replacement at the head of Minecraft devs Mojang. Maria Angelidou-Smith will take over as CEO in blockville, having previously spent nearly a decade at Meta working on Facebook’s groups, events, creators, search, profile, and monetisation. Add in time leading the product divisions of HR software firm Personio and Reddit, and you’ve got a background that reads similarly to Sharma’s – lots of tech leadership, nothing in terms of games industry experience.
“Mojang already has an exceptional game development team that knows Minecraft and its players deeply,” Sharma wrote of the hire. “We wanted someone who has built products for communities at enormous scale, who is deeply technical, and who understands how creators, product, technology, and monetisation come together.”
So, more pushing the the same direction Xbox have been going, none of which should distract from the human cost of their cuts. Microsoft are also still currently subject to a BDS movement boycott over their reported ties to the Israeli military.