The Minecraft creator community is buzzing with excitement about Xbox’s new chief strategy officer Matthew Ball. Ball, who previously worked as an independent industry analyst known for his annual State of Video Gaming report, announced his role as Xbox’s new chief strategy officer on May 20. Previously, Ball was head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios between 2016 and 2018. He also serves as the CEO of the early stage venture fund and advisory company Epyllion. At UGCon, a conference for user-generated content creators taking place in Las Vegas yesterday and today, May 22, Ball’s new role at Xbox was a significant topic of discussion among the Minecraft creators gathered at the event. Five creators representing prominent Minecraft development studios voiced their excitement about the Minecraft owner’s decision to appoint a metaverse-minded chief strategy officer in interviews with GamesBeat. All of the creators told GamesBeat that they felt Ball’s appointment signaled a potential shift in Minecraft’s platform strategy that could help creators make progress in this area. “Everyone is very excited about the prospects of there being someone high up at Xbox that has UGC experience,” said Mohamed Weheba, the CEO of the Minecraft server operator InPVP, in an interview with GamesBeat. “The multiplayer Minecraft space is, at best, maybe five percent of the potential size that it could be. Just imagine if we had someone that was UGC-focused, and actually gives us tools and support for creators.” In recent years, user-generated content creators in the Minecraft ecosystem have…
