Celeste and TowerFall Removed from Xbox Store to ‘Support the BDS Boycott’ of Microsoft

It’s a good day to love Celeste! Earlier today it was discovered that Celeste had been removed from the Xbox Store while it remained on the PlayStation and Nintendo digital storefronts. Now, as shared by the game’s co-creator Maddy Thorson, it’s been confirmed that both Celeste and TowerFall were removed from store expressly in support of the BDS called boycott against Xbox over Microsoft providing support to the Israeli military as it enacts its genocide of the Palestinian people.

A larger statement hasn’t been made by other Celeste developers or Thorson’s current studio EXOK Games, but the larger more important point is that the games are no longer available for purchase on the Xbox Store. Earlier this month, House House, developer of one of the biggest indies of the year Big Walk, also shared their own support for the BDS movement and Microsoft boycott announcement by announcing their (quite excellent) social puzzle game will not be launching on Xbox for the foreseeable future. Ontwikkelaar Origame Digital also made an incredibly potent statement denouncing the genocide in their latest game, Penguin’s Colony.

For those who’re asking, yes we delisted Celeste and TowerFall on XBox. We did this to support the BDS boycott

— Maddy Thorson (@maddymakesgames.com) October 29, 2026 at 2:40 PM

For those who’re asking, yes we delisted Celeste and TowerFall on XBox. We did this to support the BDS boycott

For those not in the know, BDS called for the boycott of Microsoft and Xbox games and hardware last year over the tech company providing AI software to the Israeli military which was used specifically to target Palestinian civilians; Microsoft have even confirmed that they were providing this software. They remain on the BDS boycott list due to the fact they continue to provide the Israeli military with other services such as email and file management systems, as well as for “combat and intelligence activities.”

The actions of EXOK Games, House House and Origame Digital come at a time of a growing pushback against Xbox over Microsoft’s support of the military movement, in part from No Games for Genocide, an organisation made up of developers and industry practitioners (disclaimer: I myself am an organiser at NGFG). These actions show how possible it is to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, and are a good example to follow.