Just a couple of months after being instated as Xbox’s first-ever Chief Operating Officer, Helen Chiang has left the company. Her departure reinforces just how much of a whirlwind year 2026 has been for Xbox leadership, as the company continually attempts to reinvent itself before the start of the next generation of consoles.
Which executive just left Xbox?
In the July 2026 Resetting Xbox post announcing 3,200 layoffs, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also revealed that Helen Chiang, who was previously Studio Head at Minecraft’s Mojang was becoming COO of Xbox. Chiang had “end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services,” with Sharma stating that Chiang would “will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.”
Now, just over three months after that post, The Verge reports that Helen Chiang is leaving Xbox. In a short internal memo to Xbox developers, Sharma confirmed Chiang’s departure, stating that she’s “grateful for her years of service” and that Xbox will “share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.” Publicly, Xbox did not highlight her departure in the same way the spotlighted Phil Spencer’s, with VP of Communications Kari Perez telling The Verge that “We don’t discuss individual personal matters,” and “We’re grateful for Helen’s years of service and wish her the best.”
Asha Sharma took over as Xbox’s CEO in February, and the gaming giant has made a lot of changes since then. It’s laid off thousands of developers, reworked the leadership team with additions like Chiang as COO and Matthew Ball as Chief Strategy Officer, pivoted back to console exclusivity, and spun off or shuttered studios like Double Fine, Complusion Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory.
It seems like Xbox’s strategy is still in a state of flux, with Sharma famously telling Windows Central in February that “the plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.” Whatever Xbox’s plan for the future ends up being, Helen Chiang won’t be a part of it as COO. Time will tell who, if anyone, will replace Chiang as Xbox’s second-ever COO.
As of now, Xbox has two first-party games slated for 2027: Fable and Clockwork Revolution. It has also been reported that more rounds of layoffs are expected in the coming months and that Xbox may release a handheld gaming device connected to Project Helix next year.