Maddy Thorson’s studio delists Celeste and TowerFall from Xbox over BDS boycott

Maddy Thorson’s studio delisted Celeste and TowerFall from Xbox to support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) boycott, a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice, and equality, and Thorson confirmed the delisting in a Bluesky post on October 29, 2026 at 14:40:23.815Z.

Shacknews reports that Xbox users began noticing Celeste’s disappearance over the past day before Thorson clarified the reason. Thorson confirmed the removals directly on Bluesky: “For those who’re asking, yes we delisted Celeste and TowerFall on XBox. We did this to support the BDS boycott.”

Shacknews states that players who already bought Celeste keep access to the game, though it is no longer available for purchase by new buyers. KeenGamer reports the same access rule for TowerFall Ascension: current owners retain access during the boycott, but the game cannot be newly purchased. The outlet also notes that Xbox users can still wishlist both titles on Xbox’s official website without a purchase option, and that the TowerFall Ascension DLC Dark World Expansion remained available for purchase on Xbox after the base game was delisted. The outlet says no boycott end date had been announced, so it was unknown when the two games would return to Xbox.

Shacknews identifies Microsoft, Xbox’s parent company, as a listed BDS target because of its ties to Israel, and KeenGamer makes the same connection. The BDS movement’s website alleges that Microsoft provides the Israeli military with Azure cloud and AI services crucial to Israel’s war on Palestinians in Gaza. Polygon notes that the Guardian reported in 2025 that Microsoft supplied Azure technology to the Israeli military for mass surveillance of Palestinians that led to bombings. Polygon and Skoar say that after protests Microsoft rescinded Israel’s access to Azure technology used to monitor millions of Palestinian phone calls daily in Gaza and the West Bank; the company remains a BDS target because it continues to supply other technologies to the Israeli government.

Celeste and TowerFall Ascension remain available for purchase on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and PC. Shacknews and Polygon give Celeste’s 2018 release on Xbox, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and note that Shacknews named the game its Indie Game of the Year and that it won the best indie game at the Game Awards in 2018. Maddy Thorson led development of Celeste and TowerFall at Maddy Makes Games, also styled MaddyMakesGames; TowerFall: Ascension is a single-screen multiplayer action game. IGN dates TowerFall to 2013, while Kotaku says MaddyMakesGames released it in 2014 on Ouya, and IGN said it asked Microsoft for comment on the delisting situation.

The Celeste delisting follows a similar move from House House, which announced on Bluesky on October 14, 2026 that Big Walk would not be released on Xbox in support of the BDS boycott. KeenGamer places House House’s earlier decision weeks before the Celeste delisting as the prior instance of a game kept off Xbox for the same reason. House House said it decided not to release Big Walk on Xbox under the BDS call to boycott Microsoft, a priority boycott target, and IGN quotes the studio: “We have made the decision not to release Big Walk on Xbox.” House House said Big Walk would come to Xbox if Microsoft divests from its Israeli ties and is removed from the BDS target list, and the studio said keeping Big Walk off Xbox disappointed fans and ran counter to its intention for friends to play together; it added: “We would love for people to be able to play the game on Xbox.”

Other developers have joined the boycott. Polygon reports that Origame Digital, developer of Penguin Colony, put a scathing statement in the game’s credits and blocked sales of the game in Israel in connection with the developer boycotts tied to Gaza. Kotaku says No Games For Genocide, a collective of developers and gaming professionals, urges an Xbox boycott as part of the BDS movement that also targets Disney, HP, and Reebok. The outlet describes a growing tide of anti-Xbox sentiment tied to Microsoft’s technical contributions to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.

Polygon and Skoar report that the BDS website says the movement seeks embargoes and sanctions against Israel until it recognizes Palestinian self-determination and complies with international law. The movement is modeled on actions taken against apartheid-era South Africa.