Pro-Palestine Xbox Game Is Delisted In Protest of Microsoft
A pro-Palestinian indie game, Tenderfoot Tactics, was originally released on the Xbox game storefront for Series X, S, and One consoles in 2024. Developer Ice Water Games has since recently decided to delist the game. According to the developer, Microsoft’s alleged connection to the Israeli military is the reason for the decision, as a protest against the company’s practices and in support of the pro-Palestinian movement. Despite the potential loss of sales, the developer feels strongly about the importance of taking a stance.
Tenderfoot Tactics Is A Well-Received, Lesser-Known RPG
Tenderfoot Tactics is an indie game with a relatively small following. That said, its minimal fanfare for its release on Xbox game digital storefront does not indicate that it is not enjoyable. Originally released in 2020 on PC, the tactical game received positive reviews from users, earning an 82% positive score. The positive reception was enough to inspire the developer to release the game digitally on Xbox and Switch in 2024. For players who have not experienced the game, Tenderfoot Tactics is a classic open-world turn-based tactical RPG with a plotline of the world being taken over by all-consuming fog.
According to the game’s Steam page, “A party of goblins, granted magic by an ancient spirit, wanders the archipelago, fighting back the terrible Fog. Wield elemental power with wild repercussions in this open-world tactics RPG. A novel, deterministic combat system, with easy-to-grasp rules and astonishing depth. No random miss chances. No damage ranges. Manipulate the elements to turn the battlefield to your advantage, but beware the consequences, as nature is complex and fickle. Open chasms, raise mountains, boil lakes, drain rivers. Start fires you later regret.” They also describe it as a modern twist on the classics.
Multiple reviews are posted on their Steam page, including PC Gamer, which claims, “That’s what Tenderfoot Tactics offers: a gorgeous mystery that looks like nothing else. It’s singular and weird and well worth a trip.” Another by Edge states, “Genius. The battle maps are dangerously fecund. Like terrariums in stop-motion […] There’s a beauty and strangeness to Tenderfoot Tactics fans of gardens or grid combat owe it to themselves to discover.” Evidently, despite the relative lack of overall publicity, those who played the game primarily enjoyed it.
Xbox Game Tenderfoot Tactics Takes Stand For Beliefs
Tenderfoot Tactics was not necessarily well-known as an Xbox game, so players may not have even originally known it was there unless they were actively searching for it or games similar to it. That said, it has not stopped Ice Water Games from standing up for their beliefs. The developer previously had announced joining the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. This campaign recently added Microsoft as a company to boycott, and soon after, Tenderfoot Tactics became delisted, the first known instance of an Xbox game leaving the storefront due to Palestine-Israel political stances.
The BDS Movement has alleged that Microsoft provided Israeli military operating in Gaza access to Azure Cloud and AI services. AI has been connected to military operations before, and Microsoft has also reportedly had internal strife over employee political demonstrations. That being said, the claims of the movement have not yet been independently verified.
Ice Water Games released a statement regarding their decision.
“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, which added Xbox to their priority boycott list earlier this month.
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. We hope that the broader community will join in the pressure campaign and fight for an end to occupation and apartheid in Palestine and across the world.”
It is unclear if or when the company would be willing to consider putting Tenderfoot Tactics back on the Xbox game platform in the future. Players who would like to experience the game can still do so on PC or Nintendo Switch. As the movement grows, it is possible more game developers will follow Ice Water Games lead and delist their games as well, assume they are willing to take any potential financial hit in doing so.
