Microsoft’s Xbox division has made a big leadership shake-up at the studio behind Minecraft. Maria Angelidou-Smith, previously Chief Product Officer at Reddit and a Meta veteran, will become the new CEO of Mojang. She steps into her role on Monday, October 19, 2026, replacing Kayleen Walters — who isn’t leaving Xbox but taking charge of a brand-new division called XP. If you’re a Minecraft player wondering how this might affect your favorite blocky world, here’s everything we know so far.
Meet the New CEO: Maria Angelidou-Smith
Angelidou-Smith brings a deep background in massive online communities and product leadership — not traditional game development. She spent nearly a decade at Meta (formerly Facebook), where she led teams working on Groups, Events, Creators, Search, Profile, and Monetization. Most recently, she served as Chief Product Officer at Reddit, helping to shape one of the internet’s largest community platforms.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma explained the decision:
“Mojang already has an exceptional game development team that knows Minecraft and its players deeply. We wanted someone who has built products for communities at enormous scale, who is deeply technical, and who understands how creators, product, technology, and monetization come together.”
That focus on monetization and technology has raised some eyebrows among players — but Xbox insists the goal is to support Minecraft’s creator ecosystem and keep the game thriving for years to come.
What’s XP? Kayleen Walters’ New Role
Kayleen Walters, who led Mojang through a period of record growth, isn’t leaving the Minecraft universe entirely. She’s moving into the brand-new role of President of Xbox’s XP division. XP stands for “Experience Points,” and it’s a formal effort to expand Xbox’s biggest franchises far beyond gaming.
Walters described the vision:
“XP was created from a simple but powerful belief: the world’s most beloved gaming franchises have an opportunity to reach people far beyond the boundaries of the game itself. Fans don’t just play our franchises. They watch them, wear them, attend them, celebrate them, and connect with them in countless ways.”
XP will focus on four key areas: Xbox Pictures (films and TV), Xbox Products (consumer goods), Xbox Partnerships, and Xbox Places (live events and attractions). Walters is a natural fit — she spent 13 years at Lucasfilm helping guide the Star Wars franchise, and as executive producer of A Minecraft Movie (2025’s biggest U.S. film), she already has a proven track record translating games to the big screen. A sequel is already in development, with Walters producing again.
During Walters’ tenure at Mojang, Minecraft unit sales soared from 350 million to over 425 million, cementing its status as the best-selling game of all time.
What This Means for Minecraft Players
Right now, nothing changes in-game. Both Java Edition and Bedrock/Pocket Edition content updates, marketplace releases, and community features will continue as normal. The real impact will unfold over the coming months and years, especially as XP ramps up its efforts to bring Minecraft into movies, merch, and real-world experiences.
For modders, data pack creators, and server hosts, Angelidou-Smith’s arrival could signal new tools or monetization options for community creators — something that aligns with her background. However, specifics haven’t been announced yet.
It’s also worth noting that these leadership changes come amid a larger restructuring at Microsoft’s gaming division, which included 3,200 layoffs earlier in 2026. That context makes the moves feel both strategic and part of a broader shift toward platform-agnostic, franchise-first thinking.
Recap & What’s Next
To sum up: Maria Angelidou-Smith is Mojang’s new CEO as of October 19, bringing deep experience in massive online communities from Meta and Reddit. Kayleen Walters moves to lead XP, an Xbox division dedicated to expanding games like Minecraft into films, products, and events. Both report directly to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
For now, you can keep crafting, mining, and exploring without interruption. We’ll be watching closely for any official updates on how these changes might shape Minecraft’s future — especially around creator support and new ways to experience the blocky universe beyond the screen.
Curious about other Minecraft news? Check out our guide to the latest snapshot changes or browse our curated list of best Minecraft mods for Java Edition 1.21.
