Xbox created a chief operating officer role for the first time this summer. The executive who got it lasted three months before Microsoft said she was on her way out.
CEO Asha Sharma confirmed Helen Chiang’s departure in an internal memo today, and she kept it brief. “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I’m grateful for her years of service and wish her well,” Sharma said. “We’ll share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.”
No reason has been given for the exit, and the timing invites questions. Chiang spent 21 years at Xbox before she moved into the top operations post in July 2026. It’s rare for an executive to leave a promotion of that scale before the first quarterly review comes around.
A role designed around Chiang
Sharma set up the COO job as part of Xbox’s restructuring this summer. Her argument was that the company had become too large to steer: headcount had grown, Xbox had turned “more fragmented,” and it needed someone who could help teams “work toward a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.”
The scope was broad. “For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me,” Sharma said when she announced it.
She also left no doubt that Chiang was her choice. “Over nearly two decades at Xbox, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from Xbox Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She 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.”
Chiang led Minecraft until the promotion. Now, three months later, the position that was supposed to tie Xbox together is empty, and all Sharma has offered is that more details will follow “as plans are finalized.”
Layoffs are still coming
The departure lands in a rough year for Xbox. More layoffs are expected as the restructuring continues, and 3,200 employees in total are expected to lose their jobs this year.
Microsoft has divested several studios. Some have landed on their feet, with Double Fine finding its footing. Arkane Lyon hasn’t been so lucky yet. The studio, which is developing Marvel’s Blade, could shut down as early as mid-November if no buyer appears. It was also caught up in Microsoft’s reshuffling, and fans and industry insiders are hoping the game ends up with a new home.
EA’s week was worse
Xbox isn’t the only publisher in trouble. EA said this week it is closing BioWare, the 30-year-old RPG studio that made Dragon Age, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. It also canceled the next Mass Effect game, which drew outrage from players worldwide and calls for a boycott.
A full-length trailer for the scrapped game then leaked online. It looked good, and that made the cancellation sting more for fans, who want EA to sell BioWare’s IP or hand it to another studio. Analysts said that outcome is unlikely.
Prime Video’s Mass Effect series, which is in development, has not been canceled.