Two prominent titles, Celeste and TowerFall, have been delisted from the Xbox Store today. While these games remain available on PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC storefronts, their removal from the Microsoft platform has been explicitly linked to a political stance by their developer.
Maddy Thorson, co-creator of Celeste, issued a statement clarifying the reason behind the decision. Thorson confirmed that the delisting was a deliberate action taken to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The Palestinian-led group has placed Microsoft on its boycott list, targeting businesses owned by the company, including Xbox.
In a direct address to inquiries regarding the removal, Thorson stated, "For those who're asking, yes we delisted Celeste and TowerFall on XBox. We did this to support the BDS boycott." This move aligns with previous actions taken by other developers against Microsoft due to the same movement.
The delisting appears to be soft rather than hard, meaning that players who already own either title should still find them accessible within their personal libraries. Celeste, which was previously part of the Games with Gold program, continues to be recognized as a standout platformer in the industry despite its absence from the current Xbox Store listings.
This incident mirrors the situation surrounding Big Walk, a game by House House that never launched on Xbox hardware. House House previously explained their decision, stating they would love for players to access the game on Xbox but could not proceed until Microsoft and/or Xbox were removed as targets of the BDS boycott.
Sources: Pure Xbox.