Big Walk is one of the biggest surprises of 2026. Created by House House (Untitled Goose Game), its August release caught many off guard, scoring 91 on Metacritic, earning huge praise from players, and cementing its place as a Game of the Year contender for the upcoming awards season.
The game launched on PlayStation 5, PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2, but was conspicuously absent from Xbox. Two months later, its developers have confirmed why, citing Microsoft’s inclusion as a target of the BDS Boycott.
Big Walk Is Skipping Xbox While Palestinian-led BDS Boycott Continues
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is a Palestinian-led boycott that targets Israel and companies associated with it. It aims to use economic and political pressure to push the country to comply with international law. Microsoft, and therefore Xbox, is included in this due to its continued supply of cloud computing and AI services to the Israeli military.
It’s because of this boycott that Big Walk will not be coming to Xbox platforms any time soon.
“We have made the decision not to release Big Walk on Xbox, in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft, and their designation of Microsoft Games (and Xbox) as a priority boycott target,” a statement from House House reads.
“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 boycott has already had some impact on Microsoft, with the company blocking Israel’s use of its tech to mass surveil Palestinian residents.
While several smaller games, like Luck Be a Landlord, have removed their games from the Xbox store or called for players not to purchase on the platform, this is arguably the biggest example of a studio boycotting Microsoft during its launch window.
TheGamer has reached out to Xbox for comment.
- Released
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August 4, 2026
- Developer(s)
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House House
- Publisher(s)
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Panic
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full
