"Coordinated collective action can confront even the most powerful interests"
House House, creators of breezy co-op puzzle adventure Big Walk, have become the latest high-profile game developers to express support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement's ongoing Microsoft boycott. The developers, who also made avian mischief sim Untitled Goose Game, wrote in a post that they've been observing the boycott – called in 2025 in protest of Microsoft's business ties with the Israeli military – for a while, citing it as the reason why Big Walk went without an Xbox console release alongside its PC, PS5, and Switch 2 versions.
"It has always been our intention for Big Walk to be played by groups of friends, and we know that keeping the game off Xbox runs counter to those intentions," the post reads. "This decision means that some people will miss out on playing Big Walk with their friends, and we understand the disappointment we’re causing. We are disappointed too.
"We would love for people to be able to play the game on Xbox, but not until Microsoft and/or Xbox have been removed as BDS boycott targets.
"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."
While pro-Palestinian sentiment among game developers isn't uncommon, it still feels rare to see such high-profile rejections of Microsoft hardware and services. Even so, House House now join developers like All Will Rise studio Speculative Agency and Tenderfoot Tactics designer badru in publicly divesting from Xbox, in protest at what the UN designates as a genocide against Palestinians. Many of Microsoft's own staff have also spoken out against maintaining business relationships with Israel, including developers at the (currently) MS-owned Arkane Studios.
House House, for their part, have been open in their support for Palestine since at least 2023. The studio, based in Melbourne, are also vocal advocates for the Pay the Rent movement, pledging at least 1% of their income to Indigenous groups in restitution for the games being "made on stolen Wurundjeri land."