Anti-Israel BDS group demands boycott of Microsoft's Xbox, Minecraft, Call of Duty

The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a global campaign dedicated to pressuring companies to cut ties with Israel, has called for a boycott of popular Microsoft products, including Xbox consoles, Game Pass subscriptions, and the widely cherished games Minecraft and Call of Duty.

The boycott follows an employee-led movement called No Azure for Apartheid, which refers to Microsoft's artificial intelligence (AI) program. Employees at Microsoft have accused the tech company of complicity in Israel's "genocide" of Palestinians by providing Azure cloud and AI services to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). As a result, organizers are aiming to strip Microsoft of revenue.

The BDS National Committee (BNC) announced the boycott in a statement obtained by Drop Site News.

"Microsoft is perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel's illegal occupation, apartheid regime, and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, which is why Microsoft is a now priority BDS target," the BNC said. "Microsoft partners with the apartheid regime of Israel and its prison system. It provides the Israeli military with Azure cloud and AI services that are central to accelerating Israel's genocide of 2.3 million Palestinians in the illegally occupied Gaza Strip. After 34 years of deep complicity with Israel's military, the Israeli army relies heavily on Microsoft to meet the technological requirements of its genocide and apartheid regime."

The committee has asked individuals who use Microsoft products to: cancel their Xbox Game Pass subscription; boycott Candy Crush, Minecraft, and Call of Duty; and boycott all Microsoft gaming products, including Xbox-branded consoles, headsets, accessories, and all games published by Microsoft-owned publishing labels (such as Xbox Game Studios, Activision, Bethesda and Blizzard), according to the statement.

The boycott comes months after Microsoft fired two of its employees in October 2024 after they organized an anti-Israel event at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, located just east of Seattle.