On March 6th Microsoft filed an application to trademark “LXP” that turned out to be the acronym of Leap Experience Pioneers, a new first party studio based in the US, as discovered by NeoGAF users Rösti and Kifimbo.
Word Mark LXP
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Game software
Mark Drawing Code (0) UNKNOWN
Serial Number 86213555
Filing Date March 6, 2014
Current Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Microsoft Corporation CORPORATION WASHINGTON 1 Microsoft Way Redmond WASHINGTON 980526399
Description of Mark The mark consists of The letters “LXP” superimposed over an image of an astronaut.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Further research led to discovering a dedicated page on the website of Territory Studio, that created the brand identity of the new development team. Below and above you can see the two logos:
At the moment we don’t know what the folks at LXP are working on, which isn’t surprising considering that their existence as a studio hasn’t even been publicly announced by Microsoft. Considering the timing of the trademark filing and the usual bureaucratic times for the actual registration, it’s very possible that Microsoft is preparing to unveil their work at E3.
One thing is for sure: they definitely selected ambitious name, and I’m definitely interested in seeing what exactly they’re setting out to pioneer, and if they’ll really bring forth a new leap in our gaming experience.