Celeste and TowerFall Pulled From Xbox as Developer Joins BDS Boycott of Microsoft

Two of indie gaming’s best-known titles have quietly disappeared from Microsoft’s storefront, and their creator says it was deliberate: Maddy Makes Games delisted Celeste and TowerFall from Xbox in support of the BDS boycott. Players noticed the games were missing earlier this week, and on October 29 developer Maddy Thorson confirmed the move on Bluesky. “For those who’re asking, yes we delisted Celeste and TowerFall on Xbox,” she wrote. “We did this to support the BDS boycott.”

Thorson’s post did not elaborate, and the sources reviewed here include no further statement from the studio. Both games remain on sale on PlayStation, PC and Switch. On Xbox, they can no longer be bought. Celeste launched in 2018 and TowerFall in 2013. IGN said it had asked Microsoft for comment, and none had been reported at the time of writing.

What the BDS boycott is asking for

BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. It describes itself as a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality, and it is modelled on campaigns against apartheid-era South Africa. Its stated aim is to pressure Israel to end its occupation of Arab lands, recognise equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel and respect refugees’ right of return. Xbox is a priority target because of Microsoft’s relationship with the Israeli government. According to BDS, Microsoft supplies Azure cloud and AI services to the Israeli military. The movement has urged people to cancel Game Pass subscriptions and stop buying Microsoft gaming products.

Microsoft disputes the most serious allegations. It acknowledges providing Israel’s Ministry of Defence with software, professional services, Azure cloud and AI services. But after an internal review it says it has “no evidence to date” that its technology has been used to target or harm people in Gaza. Several outlets note that investigative reporting contradicts that position. Polygon points to 2025 Guardian reporting that Azure was used for mass surveillance of Palestinians’ phone calls. Microsoft later cut off Israel’s access to some of the technology involved, but BDS still lists the company as a target because it continues to supply other services.

A growing list of developers

Maddy Makes Games is not the first studio to act, though it may be the highest-profile so far. Australian studio House House said a few weeks ago that its co-op game Big Walk would skip Xbox. It admitted this runs against the game’s purpose of being played with friends. The studio said it would bring the game to Xbox only once Microsoft and/or Xbox are no longer BDS targets. Developers behind Tenderfoot Tactics, All Will Rise and Luck be a Landlord have also backed the boycott. Penguin Colony’s developer, meanwhile, added a pointed statement to the game’s credits and blocked sales in Israel.

There is a difference between the earlier cases and this one. Big Walk never launched on Xbox, so the boycott cost nothing already earned. Celeste and TowerFall were established products with years of sales behind them. Pulling them means giving up ongoing revenue on a major platform and leaving Xbox players without access. That makes the decision a sterner test of commitment than declining to launch.

For Microsoft, the commercial impact of a few indie delistings is probably small. The reputational signal may matter more. As House House put it, the participating developers believe “coordinated collective action can confront even the most powerful interests.” Whether the BDS boycott spreads from small studios to larger publishers is the question to watch, and so far the sources show only a handful of independent teams taking part.

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File photo: Maddy Thorson.jpg by Heidy Motta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.