UPDATE (Oct. 28, 2026, 5:04 pm CT). Rumor / unverified: A verified source familiar with the situation told Eurogamer that Helen Chiang was allegedly “terminated for policy violations.” Eurogamer says it has not been able to independently verify the claim. Xbox told Eurogamer: “We don’t discuss individual personnel matters. We’re grateful for Helen’s years of service and wish her well.”
Helen Chiang, the Microsoft veteran who became Xbox’s first-ever chief operating officer in July, left the company after about three months in the job. The Verge reported the departure on Oct. 23 after seeing an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
Sharma’s note to staff was brief. “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I’m grateful for her years of service and wish her well,” she wrote, adding, “We’ll share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.” For now, Chiang’s immediate responsibilities are being split among other Xbox leaders.
Microsoft has not explained the exit beyond that short statement. Xbox vice president of communications Kari Perez told The Verge and Eurogamer the company does not discuss individual personnel matters and is grateful for Chiang’s years of service. The specific alleged policy violations, if any, have not been identified publicly, and this report should be treated as rumor until confirmed.
Chiang spent 21 years at Microsoft and was running Minecraft before her promotion this summer. The COO job was created as part of Xbox’s big “reset,” and Sharma described it at the time as a first for Xbox, “with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services.” Chiang reported directly to Sharma and was tasked with bringing Xbox’s businesses “together under one operating model.”
The timing is hard to ignore. Chiang’s exit comes amid rumors that Xbox is preparing more layoffs this month, in November and in January, following an earlier report of more Xbox cuts. The Verge’s Tom Warren wrote that the sudden, short memo and the immediate handoff of her duties make it seem like this was not a resignation, though Microsoft has not said either way.
What happens next is open. Sharma’s memo suggests the COO position itself is not going away, but there is no word yet on who will fill it or when, and Xbox has not shared anything beyond its short statement.
For players, the change is unlikely to have an immediate effect on games or services. But it is another sign that the leadership structure Sharma set up in July is still shifting, only a few months into a reset that has already brought cuts, studio moves and pricing experiments across the Xbox business.
