The Coalition (Black Tusk)

The Coalition (formerly known as Zipline Studios, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver, and Black Tusk Studios) is a Canadian video game developer, and is part of Xbox Game Studios. They are known for the Gears of War game franchise.

Microsoft's Corporate Complicity

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, The Coalition is implicated in its parent company's extensive military contracts and surveillance operations. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has designated Microsoft as a "priority BDS target" due to the company's central role in supporting Israeli military operations and facilitating apartheid and genocide.

Microsoft provides critical cloud computing and AI technologies to the Israeli military through its Azure platform. Leaked documents reveal that the Israeli military became one of Microsoft's top AI customers, with Azure cloud storage increasing 60% above pre-conflict levels and AI tools usage seeing a 20-fold increase during military operations in Gaza.

BDS Campaign Targeting The Coalition Games

The Palestinian BDS National Committee has specifically called for boycotting Microsoft's gaming division, which includes The Coalition portfolio of games. The BDS movement describes Microsoft as:

perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel's illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

The Coalition represent significant revenue streams for Microsoft Gaming. BDS organizers state that:

Microsoft Gaming, which includes Xbox consoles, Xbox Game Pass, Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and gaming accessories, make up a considerable portion of Microsoft's profit. By boycotting the Xbox brand, we're pressuring Microsoft to end its complicity in Israel's genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.

The campaign encourages gamers to:


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