TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
"We encourage others in the industry to join us and take a stand."
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Indie deckbuilder All Will Rise is, as Andy Chalk wrote last year, "clearly a game with something to say". The deckbuilding RPG is particularly interested in the rich and powerful, and getting revenge on the billionaires destroying the world. It's deeply anti-capitalist and political, but developer Speculative Agency received funding from Microsoft, which puts it in an awkward position.
In December, we called 2025 "Microsoft's year of shame" after it killed off games and studios left and right, snuggled up to Donald Trump, went all-in on AI and supplied tech to the military—not just the US military, but the Israeli Defense Force as well, which human rights organisations and a UN commission of enquiry have accused of committing genocide.
This has spurred both protests and boycotts, including the No Games For Genocide campaign. Two years after it deepened its relationship with the IDF—during which time it fired employees for protesting—Microsoft did eventually block the IDF from "specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies", but the boycotts continue.
Speculative Agency "became aware of the No Games For Genocide campaign late last year," the studio explains in a statement we got an early look at. This prompted a discussion about "whether it was possible to participate in the boycott".
All Will Rise's subject matter places it in opposition to companies like Microsoft, but Speculative Agency needed funding. "We were at that point self-funded, and we are—like so many other indies—eager and hungry for funding opportunities." This led to it receiving "some funding" from Microsoft as part of a "developer acceleration programme deal", which it signed last year.
Participating in the boycott would mean returning that funding. "So we would have to ask Microsoft to let us break our contract and somehow make up the shortfall of funds at a time where funding is extremely difficult to come by in the industry. Also we would be giving up the opportunity to reach the large audience of players on Xbox, increasing our financial risk and decreasing our potential player pool."
The studio ultimately decided the risk was worth it: "The urgency of No Games for Genocide and its value as a growing movement that has the potential to pressure Microsoft to cease its complicity with Israeli gen...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Indie deckbuilder All Will Rise is, as Andy Chalk wrote last year, "clearly a game with something to say". The deckbuilding RPG is particularly interested in the rich and powerful, and getting revenge on the billionaires destroying the world. It's deeply anti-capitalist and political, but developer Speculative Agency received funding from Microsoft, which puts it in an awkward position.
In December, we called 2025 "Microsoft's year of shame" after it killed off games and studios left and right, snuggled up to Donald Trump, went all-in on AI and supplied tech to the military—not just the US military, but the Israeli Defense Force as well, which human rights organisations and a UN commission of enquiry have accused of committing genocide.
This has spurred both protests and boycotts, including the No Games For Genocide campaign. Two years after it deepened its relationship with the IDF—during which time it fired employees for protesting—Microsoft did eventually block the IDF from "specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies", but the boycotts continue.
Speculative Agency "became aware of the No Games For Genocide campaign late last year," the studio explains in a statement we got an early look at. This prompted a discussion about "whether it was possible to participate in the boycott".
All Will Rise's subject matter places it in opposition to companies like Microsoft, but Speculative Agency needed funding. "We were at that point self-funded, and we are—like so many other indies—eager and hungry for funding opportunities." This led to it receiving "some funding" from Microsoft as part of a "developer acceleration programme deal", which it signed last year.
Participating in the boycott would mean returning that funding. "So we would have to ask Microsoft to let us break our contract and somehow make up the shortfall of funds at a time where funding is extremely difficult to come by in the industry. Also we would be giving up the opportunity to reach the large audience of players on Xbox, increasing our financial risk and decreasing our potential player pool."
The studio ultimately decided the risk was worth it: "The urgency of No Games for Genocide and its value as a growing movement that has the potential to pressure Microsoft to cease its complicity with Israeli gen...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?