Xbox's first COO, Helen Chiang, leaves after three months
Microsoft has not said why the 21-year veteran is out, as Xbox works through a sweeping restructuring.
Xbox is without its first chief operating officer. Helen Chiang left Microsoft on Oct. 23, about three months into the job.
An internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma delivered the news, thanking Chiang for her years of service and wishing her well. It gave no reason. Kari Perez, Xbox's vice president of communications, said the company does not discuss individual personnel matters.
Other Xbox leaders are absorbing Chiang's duties for now. Sharma promised more on who will lead operations once plans are final.
The only account of why is unconfirmed. Eurogamer, citing an anonymous source, says she was fired over policy violations, a claim that has not been independently verified.
The job was created July 6 as part of the plan Sharma called Resetting XBOX. The COO was to own profit and loss from end to end across content, hardware, platform and services, reporting straight to the CEO. Chiang, a 21-year Microsoft veteran, had run Minecraft and helped build businesses such as Xbox Live.
That same plan calls for cutting about 3,200 jobs: 1,600 right away and another 1,600 over fiscal 2027, plus moving four studios out of the division. Press reports of more layoffs in November and January have not been confirmed by Microsoft.
For players in Mexico and elsewhere, the exit brings no announced changes to games or services. What Xbox has promised is a decision on who leads operations, with no date given.
