Big Walk has no Xbox version because Australian indie developer House House supports BDS, the pro-Palestinian human rights movement. The studio says it wants to bring the co-op adventure to the platform, but only once Microsoft and/or Xbox are no longer boycott targets.
For a game built around friends playing together, the studio acknowledged that this comes at a cost. “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,” House House said in its explanation. “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.”
The follow-up to Untitled Goose Game is a multiplayer adventure in which a group of friends embody stick figures, explore a natural landscape together, and solve puzzles. Polygon describes Big Walk as one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 and a leading indie contender as the end-of-year awards and accolades season begins. According to Polygon, it’s also the highest-profile game yet not to receive an Xbox version explicitly because of the boycott.
[IMAGE:static0.polygonimages.com character gesticulates in Big Walk.]Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. The movement has made Xbox’s owner, Microsoft, a priority boycott target, describing the company as “perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel’s illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.”
The Guardian’s reporting and other reports describe Microsoft’s provision of AI and cloud services to the Israeli government and military, including “combat and intelligence services.” Polygon says BDS has had some success putting pressure on Microsoft. In September 2025, the company reportedly withdrew Israel’s access to cloud technology used for mass surveillance of Palestinian people.
Keeping Big Walk off Xbox puts House House’s boycott commitment at odds with its aim of bringing friends together: as the studio acknowledges, some players will miss out on joining their friends in a game designed around playing as a group.
