Xbox’s First COO Helen Chiang Leaves Microsoft Just Three Months After Taking the Role
Helen Chiang, the first chief operating officer in Xbox history, has left Microsoft only three months after stepping into the newly created position, marking another major leadership shake-up inside the company’s gaming division.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma informed employees of Chiang’s departure in a short internal memo sent on Friday, October 23. In the message, Sharma said Chiang was leaving Microsoft immediately and thanked her for her years of work at the company. No replacement was announced.
For now, Chiang’s responsibilities will be shared among other senior Xbox leaders. Sharma told employees that Microsoft will provide more details about the future of the COO role once leadership plans are finalized.
Microsoft has not shared a public explanation for Chiang’s exit. The company said it does not comment on individual personnel matters, while also expressing appreciation for Chiang’s contributions.
Chiang’s departure is especially notable because the COO position was created only in July as part of a broader reset of the Xbox business. Sharma introduced the role during a difficult restructuring period for Microsoft’s gaming operations, which included thousands of job cuts and major changes across Xbox studios, hardware, platform services, and content teams.
In a July email to staff, Sharma said the Xbox business needed to become healthier and more focused. She pointed to lower profit margins compared with other major gaming platforms and publishers, saying Xbox was operating at margins three to ten times below comparable companies. As part of the overhaul, Microsoft planned roughly 3,200 job cuts across its 2027 fiscal year, with half of those roles eliminated immediately and the rest expected before the fiscal year ends on June 30, 2027. The Xbox cuts were part of a wider Microsoft workforce reduction affecting about 4,800 employees.
The restructuring also included major changes to Microsoft’s first-party game studios. Four studios were put up for sale, with Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions returning to independent ownership under their founders. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs were sold to unnamed buyers. Microsoft said upcoming projects, including the next Senua title and future State of Decay releases, would continue development and launch as planned.
Chiang’s appointment was meant to bring more unity and discipline to Xbox during this transition. Sharma gave her end-to-end profit and loss responsibility across Xbox content, hardware, platform, and services. She reported directly to the CEO and was expected to help streamline decision-making across the gaming business.
At the time, Sharma said Xbox had become too fragmented as it grew, with teams and studios working too independently instead of moving toward shared goals. Chiang’s role was designed to bring the division under one clearer operating model, improve investment decisions, and align Xbox’s many businesses more closely.
Chiang had spent 21 years at Microsoft before her exit. She played a role in the growth of Xbox Live and later became one of the key leaders behind Minecraft. In 2018, she became head of Mojang Studios, and in 2020 she was named corporate vice president of the Minecraft franchise.
During her time leading Mojang, the studio expanded Minecraft’s reach across more platforms and released spin-off titles such as Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends. She later moved into a wider leadership position as chief operating officer of Game Content and Studios, where she oversaw strategy, operations, and business planning for Microsoft’s owned game studios. The Mojang studio head role was eventually handed to Åsa Bredin.
Her exit adds to a growing list of high-level changes at Xbox in 2026. Earlier in the year, Phil Spencer retired as head of Microsoft Gaming after 38 years at Microsoft. Xbox president Sarah Bond also left around the same time. Sharma, who previously led Microsoft’s CoreAI group, took over the gaming division following Spencer’s retirement.
In July, Sharma also announced that Dave McCarthy, corporate vice president of Xbox product services, would retire after 17 years with Xbox.
With Chiang now gone, Microsoft’s gaming division faces another period of uncertainty as it continues to reshape Xbox around profitability, efficiency, and long-term growth. The company has not yet revealed whether it will appoint a new COO or rethink the leadership structure again. For now, Xbox’s leadership team will have to carry forward the restructuring plan without the executive originally chosen to unify the business.
