Minecraft has a new leader. On October 8, 2026, Microsoft announced that Maria Angelidou-Smith, previously Chief Product Officer at Reddit, will take over as CEO of Mojang Studios and the Minecraft brand starting October 19. It's part of a broader Xbox reorganization that creates a new division, XP, focused on growing brands beyond games themselves.

Who is Mojang's new boss?

Maria Angelidou-Smith spent nearly a decade at Meta, where she managed Facebook Groups and Facebook Events, among other products, reaching close to 1.8 billion monthly users. After Meta, she joined Reddit as Chief Product Officer, and she also worked at Personio earlier in her career. Xbox stresses that her experience running massive social platforms will be key to leading Minecraft, which has long worked more like a living platform than a traditional game.

In the announcement published on Xbox Wire, Xbox chief Asha Sharma, who has headed Microsoft's entire gaming division since February 2026, wrote that "Maria brings a rare combination of these experiences." The same statement highlighted the philosophy that is meant to guide the new chief: "A community doesn't just consume a product. It helps shape it."

Kayleen Walters moves to the new XP division

The Mojang and Minecraft CEO seat is being vacated by Kayleen Walters, who spent recent years helping grow Minecraft's consumer business to a multibillion-dollar scale, with more than 250 licensing partners. Walters previously spent 13 years at Lucasfilm, guiding the Star Wars brand across different platforms and formats, and at Mojang she was an executive producer on "A Minecraft Movie," last year's highest-grossing film in the US.

Walters is now becoming president of the all-new XP division, which formalizes four areas of Xbox investment: XBOX Pictures (film and TV), XBOX Products (licensing and merchandise), XBOX Partnerships (collaborations with brands and sponsors), and XBOX Places (events, theme parks, in-person experiences). minecraft.pl has already reported on the creation of the XP division itself, but the name of Mojang's new chief and her exact professional background were only revealed in this announcement.

The Minecraft model as a blueprint for other Xbox brands

As Polish media have pointed out, including Antyweb, Microsoft wants to repeat Minecraft's success with its other brands, such as Fallout, Call of Duty, and Diablo. The XP division is meant to grow them in a similar way: going beyond games into films, series, licensed products, and events.

Minecraft has long been the example to follow. The game has sold over 425 million copies, and according to figures presented at September's Minecraft Live, it attracts more than 300,000 new players every day. "A Minecraft Movie" grossed around $960 million worldwide, which for Xbox confirmed that a video game brand can work as a full-fledged entertainment universe, comparable to what Disney built around Star Wars.

What the change means for players

For the Java and Bedrock Edition communities, a change in the CEO seat shouldn't mean sudden shifts in how the game is developed: the Mojang Studios team, led by developers like Jens Bergensten, is still responsible for current features and updates. Angelidou-Smith is expected to oversee business strategy, licensing, and how the brand grows beyond the game itself, much as Walters did.

That matters especially now, as Minecraft heads into another busy stretch: on October 27, the game arrives natively on Nintendo Switch 2, a film sequel, "A Minecraft Movie Squared," is in production and scheduled for July 2027, and the first new dimension in 14 years, The Sift, is on the horizon. You can follow the full list of current game versions and updates in the version overview section on minecraft.pl, and the latest news from the world of the game goes up regularly in the site's news section.

What's next

Angelidou-Smith formally takes the helm at Mojang Studios on October 19, 2026, a week before Minecraft launches on Nintendo Switch 2. Microsoft hasn't yet revealed whether the new chief plans any organizational changes at the studio responsible for developing the game, beyond continuing the licensing strategy her predecessor built. Players who use servers and the communities around the game, which you can find in the server directory on minecraft.pl, shouldn't feel any direct effects from this personnel change for now.

Sources