Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft roughly three months after taking Xbox’s newly created chief operating officer role in July. Asha Sharma announced the departure in an October 23 internal memo, as first reported by PC Gamer.
Chiang spent 21 years at Microsoft and previously led the Minecraft business. Sharma described her exit as the end of her Microsoft service and thanked her for her work, while the company said it appreciated Chiang’s service.
The new Xbox post carried broad financial responsibility
Microsoft created the chief operating officer position during Sharma’s Xbox brand reset. The role was meant to hold profit-and-loss responsibility across the division’s content, hardware, platform, and services operations.
That remit put the executive at the center of decisions affecting Xbox consoles, game publishing, subscriptions, and its wider software platform. Chiang’s duties are now being divided temporarily among other Xbox leaders.
The departure comes as Xbox pursues cost reductions alongside efforts to raise revenue under its current leadership. A single executive overseeing the financial performance of those groups could have helped align decisions that otherwise span separate teams and competing priorities.
Xbox has yet to explain its longer-term plan
Chiang’s short tenure also leaves uncertainty around the structure Sharma introduced in July. The company must now decide whether to appoint another executive to the role, redistribute its authority permanently, or change the position’s scope.
Microsoft has not disclosed why Chiang left and declined to discuss individual personnel matters. Eurogamer reported that an anonymous Microsoft source alleged she was terminated for policy violations, but Microsoft has not confirmed or denied that claim. Xbox has not named a permanent successor or explained how it will handle the position over the long term.
This article was produced with AI assistance from multi-source reporting and is published under our editorial standards.
