Celeste and TowerFall Pulled from Xbox Over Microsoft Boycott Ties

Celeste and TowerFall have been taken off Xbox after the developer decided to oppose Microsoft because of its ties and backing connected to the Israeli government.

Maddy Thorson, the creator of Celeste and TowerFall, said on Bluesky that the team had taken the games down from Xbox. They can no longer be bought on the platform, which surprised some players. Thorson said the choice was made Here are a few unique rewrites that keep the same meaning and fit naturally into a sentence: - **in backing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement** - **in support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign** - **to endorse the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement** - **in favor of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions initiative** If you want, I can also make it sound more **formal, academic, or natural in full-sentence context**, which describes itself as a Palestinian-led effort for freedom, justice, and equality. Microsoft has been asked for a response.

The movement focuses on companies that are tied to or invested in the Israeli government during the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Celeste and TowerFall are not the only games to leave Xbox for this reason. Earlier this fall, the cooperative adventure title Big Walk also chose not to launch on Xbox and pointed to the boycott as the reason. The team said that if Microsoft were to cut those ties and no longer be listed as a BDS target, Big Walk would come to Xbox.

“Here are several unique rewrites that keep the same meaning and fit naturally into a sentence: - **We have chosen not to** - **We decided against** - **We have opted not to** - **We made the choice to not** - **We determined not to** If you want, I can also rewrite the **full sentence** so it sounds more natural and fully original release Big Walk on Xbox, in line with the Palestinian-led BDS movement’s call to boycott Microsoft, and its naming of Microsoft Games and Xbox as a top boycott target,” said House House at the time. “If you want help making sense of our reasons, we suggest looking into why Microsoft is a BDS priority target, the progress this kind of pressure has already made with Microsoft, and especially watching this excellent opening explainer from People Make Games.”

Celeste and TowerFall have both been around for years, with TowerFall arriving in 2013 and Celeste in 2018. Both titles are still sold on PlayStation, PC, and Switch.

• Celeste released in 2018
• TowerFall released in 2013
• Both remain available on other platforms