Xbox has appointed Kayleen Walters to lead XP, a new division covering film, television, merchandise and live experiences, while former Reddit Chief Product Officer Maria Angelidou-Smith will become CEO of Mojang and Minecraft. The appointments link a leadership change at Minecraft with a broader effort to extend Xbox franchises beyond games. XP takes its name from “Experience Points” and brings four areas of investment under Walters, who moves from her role as President of Mojang and Minecraft.
Xbox Pictures will cover film and television adaptations, while Xbox Products handles licensing and merchandise. Xbox Partnerships focuses on sponsors and brand partners, and Xbox Places covers major broadcasts, in-person events, theme parks and other location-based experiences.
Walters brings experience from both Minecraft and Star Wars to the position. Before joining Xbox, she spent 13 years at Lucasfilm, working across films, consumer products and partnerships.
At Mojang, Angelidou-Smith’s appointment aims to place a leader with extensive experience in large online communities at the head of Minecraft. She spent nearly a decade at Meta, where her responsibilities included Facebook Groups, Events, Creators, Search, Profile and Monetization. She subsequently led product and technology at Personio and served as Chief Product Officer at Reddit.
In explaining the appointment, Xbox emphasised the breadth of Minecraft’s community, which includes players, creators, educators, modders, server operators and people running businesses around the game. The company said it sought a leader who understood how community products, technology, creators and monetisation work together, alongside Mojang’s existing game development team.
