Helen Chiang, Xbox's first-ever chief operating officer, has left the company only a few months after being promoted to the role by CEO Asha Sharma. Her exit comes at a difficult time for the Xbox business, and the circumstances surrounding her departure have not been fully disclosed.
Sharma confirmed the departure in a memo to staff, which was seen by The Verge. In it, she thanked Chiang for her "years of service" at Xbox. A Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central that the company does not "discuss individual personnel matters." Separately, a source speaking to Eurogamer said Chiang was "terminated for policy violations." The Verge's Tom Warren reported a similar account, saying Chiang was let go due to a "policy violation," though the nature of that violation has not been made public.
In July, Sharma had announced Chiang's appointment as Xbox's first COO, a role with "end-to-end" responsibility for the financial future of Xbox's content, hardware, platform and services. Sharma said at the time that the position would "bring our businesses together under one operating model," with a focus on clear investment decisions, learning from successes and failures, and accountability for results. Chiang had spent 20 years at Microsoft, where she played a key role in the creation of Xbox Live and later oversaw Mojang and the lucrative Minecraft franchise.
The appointment was made as Sharma worked to address the company's finances. She said the Xbox business was "not healthy" when she took over, and the profitability challenge assigned to Chiang was considerable. Sharma said she would share an update on the COO position at some point, but did not provide further details.
The departure also follows weak performance across several parts of the business. September was another poor month for Xbox hardware, with sales of the Xbox Series X|S consoles in the United States falling to an all-time September low. On the software side, Gears of War: E-Day is viewed as a significant disappointment. Xbox Game Pass is also set to become more expensive and to lose some content in November.
For now, the real reason for Chiang's exit remains unconfirmed, and Microsoft has offered no further explanation. What is clear is that the company's leadership on the financial side of Xbox has changed again within a short period, at a time when the division's results are under close scrutiny.