Helen Chiang, Xbox’s first-ever chief operating officer, has stepped down just three months after the role was created, CEO Asha Sharma told staff in an internal memo on Friday. The news lands barely a quarter after Chiang’s promotion this summer.
Helen Chiang exits Xbox COO role after 3 months (Credits: IGN)
Sharma’s memo, verified by The Verge, was brief: “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I’m grateful for her years of service and wish her well. We’ll share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.” No reason for the short tenure has been disclosed.
Chiang had spent an astonishing 21 years at Xbox. She previously ran the Minecraft franchise at Mojang before shifting into the COO seat in July 2026.
Why Xbox created the COO role
The position was born out of Xbox’s massive summer restructuring. Sharma said at the time that the COO would carry end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform and services — “for the first time,” she noted — reporting directly to her.
The goal, Sharma explained, was to “work toward a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done” as Xbox’s headcount grew and the company became “more fragmented.” Chiang was chosen because, over nearly two decades, she “helped build some of our most important businesses, from Xbox Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise.”
What Helen Chiang’s exit means for Xbox
The abrupt exit leaves the COO chair empty just as the role was supposed to unify Xbox’s businesses under one operating model. With Sharma promising more on COO leadership “as plans are finalized,” the division now faces a fresh round of questions about its post-restructuring leadership — barely three months after that leadership was announced.
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Source: IGN — read the full story there.
