Indie developer removes their game from Xbox stores in solidarity with pro-Palestine boycott

Tenderfoot Tactics is a wistful and dreamlike turn-based indie that I had a real soft spot for the year it released. It’s still available on Steam and well worth a look, but won’t be available on the Xbox Store from today. In an act of solidarity with the BDS boycott of Microsoft following their reported connections with the Israeli military, the development team have removed their game from sale on Microsoft’s storefronts.

“The Tenderfoot Tactics team has decided to remove our game from sale on Xbox in solidarity with the Palestinian-lead Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign,” wrote designer badru on Bluesky (thanks, PC Gamer). “We hope that Microsoft will listen to the voices of their workers and customers and stop all business with the criminal Israeli military, which we have watched conduct an open genocide in Gaza over the last 18 months”.

Earlier this month, Microsoft fired two software engineers who protested against the company’s business with the Israeli military. “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate,” said Microsoft in a statement to PC Gamer.

Gaza’s Ministry Of Health puts the current Palestinian death toll at more than 50,000 since October 7th, 2023, although Israel has disputed those figures. The BDS movement have called Microsoft “perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel’s illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians”.