Big Walk Won’t Come To Xbox Until Microsoft Is No Longer A BDS Boycott Target
Indie developer House House has announced that Big Walk, a critically acclaimed game currently available on PC and PlayStation 5, will not release on Xbox Series X|S. The decision is intended as a show of support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In a statement, House House acknowledged the difficult tradeoff their position creates. The developer noted that their intention has always been for Big Walk to be played by groups of friends together, and they recognize that excluding Xbox undermines this goal. The studio expressed disappointment about preventing Xbox players from enjoying the game with friends, but ultimately chose to prioritize alignment with their political values regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This represents a notable case of a game developer making platform decisions based on political activism rather than commercial or technical considerations. Despite the potential commercial impact of excluding a major platform, House House has committed to maintaining the Xbox exclusion. The game has already achieved critical success on its available platforms, suggesting the developer’s willingness to accept the trade-off between broader audience reach and political principle.