Xbox is no longer thinking only about what people play.

Microsoft’s gaming business is making a more coordinated push into film, television, merchandise and live entertainment through a newly established division called XP.

Announced on 8 October 2026, the division will bring several previously separate entertainment activities under one structure.

The move reflects a growing trend in which major gaming companies are treating their franchises as entertainment worlds capable of supporting films, television series, merchandise and experiences far beyond the original games.

And with properties such as Minecraft, Fallout, Call of Duty and Diablo already moving between different media, Xbox has plenty of material to work with.

What exactly is XP?

The new division is designed to coordinate Xbox’s activities outside traditional game development.

It consists of four principal areas.

Xbox Pictures will concentrate on film and television storytelling.

Xbox Products will oversee merchandise and consumer products.

Xbox Places will focus on events, destinations and experiences that bring gaming communities together.

Xbox Partnerships will manage collaborations with brands, creators and other organisations.

The division will be led by Kayleen Walters, who previously headed Mojang, the studio responsible for Minecraft.

The idea is to create a more consistent approach to developing and managing Xbox-related entertainment projects.

Rather than treating each adaptation as a separate opportunity, the company can plan how individual franchises might expand across several platforms.

Fallout has already demonstrated the possibilities

Amazon’s Fallout television adaptation provides one of the clearest examples of how this approach can work.

Instead of simply recreating the storyline of a particular game, the series introduced original characters and explored new situations within the established post-apocalyptic universe.

That gave existing fans familiar locations, factions and themes while allowing newcomers to understand the story without having played the games.

The series also demonstrated the value of respecting a franchise’s distinctive identity.

Fallout isn’t merely a story about surviving a nuclear apocalypse.

Its strange combination of retro-futurism, dark humour, corporate satire and moral ambiguity is what makes its world recognisable.

A successful adaptation needs to understand those qualities.

With a third season among the projects associated with Xbox’s wider entertainment plans, Fallout remains an important example of the potential value of adapting gaming universes for television.

Minecraft offers a completely different opportunity

Minecraft presents almost the opposite creative challenge.

Unlike a heavily narrative-driven game, its appeal is built around exploration, construction and player creativity.

There is no single definitive storyline that a film must reproduce.

That flexibility gives filmmakers considerable freedom, but it also creates a challenge: how do you turn an open-ended creative experience into a compelling story?

The commercial performance of A Minecraft Movie has encouraged further development, with a sequel among the projects highlighted in Xbox’s expanding entertainment activities.

Its success demonstrates that gaming adaptations don’t necessarily need to reproduce a game’s mechanics or structure to attract audiences.

They need to capture what makes the property recognisable and enjoyable.

Call of Duty and Diablo are heading in different directions

The planned Call of Duty film and Diablo animated series illustrate how different Xbox’s entertainment properties can be.

Call of Duty has an extensive history of military action, cinematic campaigns and recognisable characters.

A film could draw on those elements, although it would need to establish a compelling identity within an already crowded action genre.

Diablo, meanwhile, offers a darker fantasy setting filled with demons, ancient conflicts and supernatural horror.

Animation could be particularly effective in depicting its elaborate environments and creatures.

The two franchises require completely different creative approaches.

That is one reason a dedicated entertainment division could be useful.

Why gaming companies are thinking beyond games

For decades, video-game adaptations had a reputation for disappointing audiences.

Many films struggled to translate interactive experiences into satisfying narratives.

But recent successes have changed the conversation.

Studios increasingly recognise that games contain valuable characters, settings and storytelling traditions that can appeal to audiences across different media.

A television series can introduce a franchise to viewers who have never owned a console.

A film can create renewed interest in an older game.

And merchandise, events and collaborations can keep a property visible between major releases.

Is there a danger of too many adaptations?

There is also a risk that entertainment companies begin treating every successful game as a potential franchise machine.

Not every game needs a film.

Some stories work precisely because players participate in them, make choices and experience the world interactively.

Removing that element can fundamentally change the appeal.

The strongest adaptations understand what should be preserved and what needs to be reinvented.

For Xbox, the challenge will be maintaining the individual identities of its franchises rather than forcing them into a single commercial formula.

The new XP division signals a major commitment to entertainment beyond gaming.

Whether that commitment results in memorable stories will depend on the filmmakers, writers and creative teams bringing those worlds to life.

Which Xbox gaming franchise deserves its own film or television series next?