Big Walk, House House’s cooperative puzzler that relies heavily on proximity chat and letting players just kinda wander around an island and figure it all out without much guidance, is one of the best games of the year. However, it skipped Xbox when it launched in August, and while that isn’t that uncommon these days, anyone who plays games primarily on Microsoft’s system is probably wondering if the game will ever come to Xbox Series X/S. House House has now put out a statement about why it chose to skip over the system, and has said flatly it is due to the ongoing BDS boycott protesting Microsoft’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
The statement, which was posted on the company’s social media channels and the official Big Walk website, includes resources for those who are unaware of the BDS movement to read or watch, including the protest’s own website outlining how Microsoft tech has allegedly been used by Israeli military in surveillance of the Palestinian people, and its goals in urging people to boycott the company’s products, including Xbox.
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. 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.
Thank you for your understanding.
The BDS movement has had a few wins in its Microsoft boycott, such as last year when the company disabled the Israeli government’s use of its cloud storage and AI systems believed to be used in surveying Palestinians, and back in May when it was reported the company was severing ties with employees in Israel, though the boycott is still ongoing, and has the support of sides of the video game industry that have rallied under the banner of No Games for Genocide.