Celeste and TowerFall Pulled from Xbox Storefront Following Developer Boycott

Two highly acclaimed indie titles, Celeste and TowerFall, have been abruptly removed from the Xbox storefront. Maddy Thorson, the developer behind both games, confirmed the decision to delist the titles in a post on Bluesky, marking a significant development as the games are no longer available for new purchases on the Microsoft platform. Fans of the acclaimed titles expressed surprise at the sudden disappearance of the games from the marketplace, which had hosted them for several years prior to this week.

The Reasoning Behind the Delisting

As reported by IGN, Thorson explicitly stated that the removal was carried out in direct support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. This movement is a Palestinian-led initiative that describes itself as a campaign for freedom, justice, and equality. The organization calls for the boycott of companies deemed to be involved with or invested in the Israeli government during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. By removing the games, the developer is aligning with the movement’s designation of Microsoft, including its gaming division, as a priority boycott target. While the developer has taken this public stance, IGN has reached out to Microsoft for an official comment regarding the situation, though no statement has been provided at this time.

Part of a Growing Industry Trend

This is not the first instance of indie developers citing the BDS movement as a primary reason to avoid or pull support from the Xbox platform. Earlier this fall, the co-op adventure game Big Walk made headlines when its developers chose not to release the title on Xbox hardware. The team behind Big Walk, House House, stated at the time that their decision was made in accordance with the BDS call to boycott Microsoft. The developers of Big Walk noted that they would reconsider bringing their title to the console only if Microsoft chooses to divest from its current ties to the Israeli government and is subsequently removed from the list of priority BDS targets. House House also encouraged their audience to research the specific reasons Microsoft is targeted and to engage with informational content regarding the movement.

Why it matters

For Xbox players, the immediate impact is the loss of the ability to purchase Celeste or TowerFall directly through the Microsoft ecosystem. These titles have been staple indie experiences on the platform for years, with TowerFall having been released in 2013 and Celeste in 2018. Their sudden departure underscores a growing trend of independent developers leveraging their platform presence to make explicit political statements. Players who still wish to play these games will find them unaffected on other platforms, as both titles remain available for purchase on PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. As this situation continues to develop, it remains to be seen if additional developers will follow suit or if Microsoft will issue a formal response addressing these specific industry concerns.