Xbox Chief Operating Officer Helen Chiang Leaves Microsoft After Three Months
Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft, three months after becoming Xbox's first chief operating officer. The news reached staff through an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, circulated on 23 October 2026.
The Verge obtained that memo and reported that Chiang has left the role. Sharma confirmed the departure internally.
Chiang had been with Microsoft for 21 years. Before her latest job, she served as head of Minecraft, the sandbox game that Microsoft owns and that has been one of the company's biggest franchises for more than a decade.
The chief operating officer role did not exist until this year. Sharma created it in July as part of what Xbox called its reset. In a post titled "Resetting XBOX" dated 6 July 2026, Xbox announced the new position, and Xbox News confirmed Chiang as the person chosen to fill it.
A chief operating officer usually handles the day-to-day running of a business, working across teams so that plans turn into finished products. Xbox is a large operation, covering consoles, PC, game studios and the Game Pass subscription, a service that gives players a catalogue of games for a monthly fee.
Xbox has not announced a replacement at the time of writing, and Microsoft has not published a new statement on the departure beyond the internal memo.
For players, the change sits behind the scenes. Games in development, release dates and store prices are set by studios and teams, not by one executive. Anyone who wants to follow the next steps should watch Xbox's official news channels, where leadership changes are usually posted.
