House House has explained why Big Walk isn’t on Xbox, as the studio joins the Palestinian-led calls to boycott Microsoft over its implicit involvement in Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza, which has seen allegations, declarations and court rulings that war crimes and genocide are being perpetrated by the IDF.
The studio writes:
We have made the decision not to release Big Walk on Xbox, in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft, and their designation of Microsoft Games (and Xbox) as a priority boycott target. If you need help understanding our motives, we would recommend reading about why Microsoft is a BDS priority target, the successes this kind of pressure has already had on Microsoft, and especially, watching this great introductory piece by People Make Games.
Microsoft’s supply of technology to Israel includes the use of their AI platforms on the Azure cloud for mass surveillance and military targeting, as well as simply storing petabytes of data. It’s been a year since activist groups including Access Now, Amnesty International and EFF sent an open letter to Microsoft calling upon them to clarify the reported uses of their technology by Israel, the contravention of the corporate commitments regarding human rights and responsible use of AI.
Of course, there’s plenty of whataboutism and finger-pointing over this decision. Big Walk is still purchasable and playable on Windows – albeit only via Steam – and the studio’s previous game, Untitled Goose Game, is still available on Xbox. However, the BDS movement specifically notes that it can often be effective to make more targeted actions against larger companies.
Xbox is already an embattled division within Microsoft through its own business decisions and financial aims, and so developers cutting off the console could be an effective way of applying further pressure.
The studio wraps up its message:
We’ve made this decision with the belief that meaningful change can be made in the world, that coordinated collective action can confront even the most powerful interests, and that one day, Palestine will be free.
Source: House House
