GAMEGamesBreaking NO. ---

Helen Chiang leaves Xbox COO role after about 3 months

Asha Sharma's memo confirms the Minecraft veteran's exit from the post created in July's Xbox reset. Her duties are split among other Xbox leaders while Microsoft finalizes plans for the role.

By Rowan Ashby Published 25.10.26 10:48 UTC 4 min read

Helen Chiang, then head of Minecraft, presenting on Centre Stage at Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon — Eóin Noonan / Web Summit via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0 · Source

Key takeaways

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told staff in an internal memo dated 23 October 2026 that chief operating officer Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft.
Chiang was named Xbox's first-ever COO on 6 July 2026, so she held the post for roughly three and a half months.
No reason was given. Xbox told The Verge it does not discuss individual personnel matters.
Her duties are being split among other Xbox leaders for now; Sharma said more on COO leadership would be shared once plans are finalized.
The exit removes a central figure from the "reset" Sharma launched in July alongside about 3,200 planned job cuts.

Helen Chiang is leaving Xbox and Microsoft, about 3 months after becoming Xbox's first chief operating officer, according to an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reported by The Verge on 23 October 2026. No reason was given.

What happened

The Verge's Tom Warren reported the memo late on 23 October (his post on X went up at about 21:40 UTC). In it, Sharma confirmed Chiang's departure and thanked her. "I'm grateful for her years of service and wish her well," Sharma wrote, according to GamesBeat's account of the memo.

Sharma did not name a successor. Chiang's immediate responsibilities will be divided among other Xbox leaders until a longer-term plan is in place, and Sharma wrote that the company would "share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized." Kotaku, Gematsu, TechPowerUp, GamesRadar and PC Gamer published matching reports over the following day, and IGN shared the news on X on 25 October.

What we know and what we don't know yet

Question	Status (as of 25 Oct 2026, 11:00 UTC)	Source
Is Helen Chiang leaving Xbox?	Yes, confirmed in Asha Sharma's internal memo	The Verge, via GamesBeat and Kotaku
When was she appointed COO?	6 July 2026, as part of Sharma's restructuring	GamesBeat, Game Informer
Why is she leaving?	Not disclosed; Xbox does not discuss individual personnel matters	The Verge, GamesBeat
Who runs her teams now?	Other Xbox leaders, on an interim basis	GamesBeat, Gematsu
Will there be a new COO?	Not yet decided publicly; details to come "as plans are finalized"	Sharma memo, via GamesBeat
Where is she going next?	Not announced	None of the reports name a new employer

Some blogs have speculated about the circumstances of the exit without citing evidence. Neither Microsoft nor Chiang has commented on a reason, and Bullquill is not reporting unsourced claims.

Background: who is Helen Chiang?

Chiang spent more than 21 years at Microsoft. According to GamesBeat, she helped build the Xbox Live service early in her career, became studio head of Mojang in 2018 and was corporate vice president for the Minecraft franchise from 2020.

On 6 July 2026, Sharma promoted her to the newly created COO post. In an Xbox Wire announcement quoted by GamesBeat, Sharma said Chiang would hold "end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services," reporting directly to the CEO. Xbox had never had a COO before.

The appointment was part of what Sharma's memo called "the most significant restructure in Xbox history." According to Game Informer, the plan included cutting about 3,200 roles across fiscal year 2027, with roughly 1,600 eliminated on the day, and moving several studios out of Xbox: Compulsion Games and Double Fine became independent, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs agreed terms with new owners, and Arkane began a consultation on its options in France. Sharma wrote at the time that "our business today is not healthy." The same reorganization saw Dave McCarthy, who led Xbox product services, retire after 17 years, and put Mojang and King under Sharma's direct oversight.

What it means

The departure leaves Xbox without the executive it had chosen to pull its businesses "under one operating model" only months into the reset. For now, accountability for profit and loss across content, hardware, platform and services sits with a group of leaders rather than one person, and the memo gives no timeline for a decision on the role.

For players, no product changes have been announced as a result. Xbox is in the middle of other shifts, including new cloud gaming limits and prepaid Xbox Cloud Playtime packs, and its October ID@Xbox showcase lineup. The exit also lands during a difficult stretch for big publishers more broadly, after EA shut down BioWare earlier this month. Readers can follow updates on the Xbox and Microsoft topic pages.

The next signals to watch are whether Microsoft names a new COO or quietly retires the role, and whether further leadership changes follow inside the division.

Frequently asked questions

Why did Helen Chiang leave Xbox?

No reason has been given. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's internal memo of 23 October 2026 announced the departure without an explanation, and Xbox told The Verge it does not discuss individual personnel matters.

Who runs Xbox operations now that Helen Chiang has left?

Chiang's responsibilities are being divided among other Xbox leaders on an interim basis. Sharma said Xbox would share more on COO leadership once plans are finalized.

When did Helen Chiang become Xbox COO?

She was named Xbox's first chief operating officer on 6 July 2026, as part of Asha Sharma's restructuring, after leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise.