Xbox COO Helen Chiang Departs Three Months After Taking Role
The COO post was created to put one person over profit and loss across content, hardware, platforms and services, and it is now empty three months in, during the same reset that produced the layoffs.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Helen Chiang, appointed as Xbox's first chief operating officer in July 2026 amid roughly 1,600 layoffs and a business reset, has left the company just over three months later. CEO Asha Sharma said she is grateful for Chiang's years of contribution and will share COO leadership details once plans are finalized. Corporate vice president Kari Perez said the company does not discuss personal private matters.
Chiang had worked in the Xbox division for nearly 20 years before taking the COO role, which covered profit and loss across content, hardware, platforms and services. Her appointment came in the same July 2026 restructuring that cut roughly 1,600 jobs and dropped some game studios.
The departure follows a year of change at the division: Phil Spencer retired in February 2026, Asha Sharma succeeded him, Microsoft Gaming was renamed Xbox, and Sharma declared a business reset. Sharma said details of COO leadership will come once plans are finalized.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GIGAZINE XBOX初のCOOが就任からわずか数カ月で退任