Xbox’s first-ever chief operating officer leaves as Microsoft gears up for next

What you need to know

Helen Chiang, Xbox’s first COO, is leaving Microsoft after two decades in gaming as the company prepares for its next hardware generation, Project Helix. The transition comes amid restructuring and plans for a handheld in 2027 and a console in 2028.

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Xbox’s first-ever chief operating officer (COO) is leaving Microsoft, says a new internal memo spotted by The Verge.

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Xbox’s major reset will continue without the help of chief operating officer Helen Chiang. According to a memo seen by The Verge’s Tom Warren, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma tells employees that the group’s first COO is leaving.

Back in July, Sharma proudly announced that ex-COO Helen Chiang would have “end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services.” More research shows that Tim Stuart is no longer CFO (chief financial officer) at Xbox; in fact, he hasn’t been since February 2026.

• Read more: Next-gen Xbox handheld on track for Holiday 2027 might ditch Windows
• Read more: Project Helix may cost $1,800 and become the first profitable Xbox console
• Read more: Xbox ‘Project Helix’ launch could be delayed by the ongoing memory crisis

Microsoft is also gearing up for a new console generation. Reports indicate that Xbox’s gen10 may be the first profitable console generation, with prices reportedly targeting a wild threshold of $1,200 to $1,800. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said multiple times that Project Helix, the codename for Microsoft’s next hardware generation, will be a “family of devices.”

Reports say that Xbox will have two devices: a next-gen handheld in 2027, and its gen10 console in 2028. The cost to make these devices is expected to be higher than any other time in console gaming history.

What responsibilities did Helen Chiang hold as Xbox COO, and what roles had she held at Microsoft before becoming COO?

What executive changes at Xbox preceded Helen Chiang’s departure, including Tim Stuart’s exit as CFO?

How are the planned 2027 Xbox handheld and 2028 gen10 console expected to fit into Project Helix’s family-of-devices strategy?

What factors are driving the reported high costs of Xbox’s next-generation hardware?

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On the business side, Xbox has been executing its new restructuring with great stress, offloading hundreds of game developers and workers as the industry continues to shrink and contract amid higher costs. The volatile nature of gaming has forced companies to get more creative, and Xbox is also carrying out new stages of plans that have been in place for half a decade or longer (e.g. cloud gaming and ad-based monetization).