That didn't take long: Helen Chiang, appointed as Xbox's first Chief Operating Officer only in July 2026, has already left the company. Polygon reports, citing The Verge. After just over three months in the position, the role is once again vacant.
What happened at Xbox?
In the "Resetting Xbox" post from July, which also announced 3,200 layoffs, CEO Asha Sharma appointed Chiang, the former Mojang studio head, as COO. She was given end-to-end profit and loss responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services and was tasked with consolidating the business units under a common operating model.
Sharma has now confirmed the departure in a brief internal memo to Xbox developers. She stated being "grateful for her years of service," and that more would be communicated regarding COO leadership once plans are finalized. There was no major public announcement. Communications VP Kari Perez merely told The Verge: "We don’t discuss individual personal matters." There is no successor yet.
How Turbulent is Xbox's 2026?
Sharma has been CEO since February and has since undertaken significant restructuring: thousands of layoffs, Matthew Ball as Chief Strategy Officer, a return to console exclusivity, and the spin-off or closure of studios such as Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory. Those interested in the industry's situation can also find our analysis of the upheaval at EA and BioWare.
From our perspective, the swift departure fits the picture of a strategy still in flux. Sharma herself told Windows Central in February, "the plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan." For gamers, this means: for 2027, only Fable and Clockwork Revolution are officially announced as Xbox games, and according to reports, further rounds of layoffs could follow. A handheld device in the context of Project Helix is also rumored. None of this has been confirmed yet, so staying calm is advised. You can find current information on xbox.com and the Xbox Wire.
Who is now leading Xbox operations?
That very question remains open. Xbox has announced it will share more about COO leadership once plans are in place, and whether anyone will take on the COO role at all is unclear. Chiang was previously Studio Head at Mojang, the team behind Minecraft, and has known the company for years. The fact that she couldn't help shape the new structure for long raises questions. Why she is leaving is not known.
Source: Polygon
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