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Recommended reading Gaming Industry New report lays out Israeli military use of Microsoft services that prompted employee protests and a boycott of Xbox and Game Pass Gaming Industry Microsoft shareholders demand report into the company's 'human rights due diligence' over allegations of war crime complicity in Gaza Gaming Industry Microsoft's Build conference interrupted by renewed protests over its ties with the Israeli military Gaming Industry Brian Eno, creator of the Windows 95 startup sound, calls on Microsoft to sever ties with Israel: 'If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes' Gaming Industry 'A future has been stolen from many of us and our community will never experience an amazing game': Microsoft MMO devs respond to cancelation of project Phil Spencer reportedly loved Gaming Industry ESO devs at ZeniMax reel from Microsoft's 'hollow' layoff emails, with some wondering how a 'carcass of workers' is 'supposed to keep shipping award-winning games' Gaming Industry 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' Arkane employees demand Microsoft sever ties with Israeli military: 'We don’t want to be part of this sinister project for Gaza' Andy Chalk 12 August 2025 Members of the STJV union at Arkane have published an open letter calling for an immediate termination of the company's contracts with the IDF. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images) Members of the French videogame union STJV at Arkane Lyon, currently developing Marvel's Blade, have published an open letter calling on Microsoft to end its relationship with the Israeli military and conduct "a transparent, independent and public audit of Microsoft technologies, contracts, services and investments to make sure they are not used to violate the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, and Microsoft’s own Human Rights Statement." Microsoft has faced rising criticism in recent months over its entanglements with the Israeli military and its ongoing assault on Gaza, which is now estimated to have caused nearly 62,000 deaths as of August 12, 2025, many of them children. The onslaught began in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on Israel in which the group killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Microsoft employees disrupted company events (and were subsequently fired) to criticize the company's work with the IDF; art rock legend Brian Eno, creator of the famous Windows 95 startup sound, issued his own call to sever ties in May. In July, a group of more than 60 Microsoft shareholders rejected the company's claim that it had investigated itself and found no wrongdoing, and called for an in-depth report into the company's human rights due diligence [HRDD]. Related articles New report lays out Israeli military use of Microsoft services that prompted employee protests and a boycott of Xbox and Game Pass Microsoft shareholders demand report into the company's 'human rights due diligence' over allegations of war crime complicity in Gaza Microsoft's Build conference interrupted by renewed protests over its ties with the Israeli military The Arkane letter, addressed to studio leadership as well as "the heads of Zenimax, Microsoft Gaming and the overall Microsoft group," references both the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement's call for a boycott of Xbox products, and the No Azure for Apartheid petition that has been signed by more than 2,000 Microsoft employees. Regarding the latter, Microsoft has been "turning a blind eye to demands from its own team," the letter says, and that multiple employees "trying to raise awareness of the situation in Gaza and Microsoft's implication in it have been terminated." Much like the shareholders demanding a report into Microsoft's HRDD procedures, the Arkane letter doesn't present Microsoft's support of the Israeli military as merely a moral issue, but also a practical one. "Arkane Studios’ STJV section joins BDS and the No Azure for Apartheid in their demands for Microsoft to stop supporting the Israeli regime," the letter states. "We think that Microsoft has no place being accomplice of a genocide, and as Microsoft employees, we don’t want to be part of this sinister project for Gaza. Moreover, we think it’s our responsibility, as tech workers, to raise the alarm, and to ensure that our technologies are used to make the voices of the oppressed heard, and not facilitate their demise. "Finally, in a more direct manner, we think this could very well affect our life directly, by reducing the audience for our games, thus directly compromising the viability of Xbox Games, and, in the long run, our very own jobs." The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. The letter calls for a termination of all current and future contracts with the Israeli military, an independent and public audit of all Microsoft technologies and services used by the Israeli miliitary, an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and a commitment to "uphold free speech and ensure the protection of pro-Palestinian speech and the safety of allies employes, as well as any actions, fundraising initiatives on internal company platforms." This, as far as I know, is the first studio-attributed call for Microsoft to sever ties with the Israeli military, although the letter notes it comes specifically from Arkane's "STJV section," which affords protections that prior individual protesters didn't have. French labor laws include rights and protections for workers not offered in many other countries, and like other trade unions in France, SJTV isn't shy about flexing its muscles. Of course, this is a much bigger ask than, say, calling for a repeal to return-to-office mandates, but it also reflects a growing shift in mood: The world has been horrifically slow to recognize the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, but calls for a ceasefire from Western nations are increasing, and as reported by CNN, Israel's planned military takeover of Gaza City has been condemned by pretty much everyone except the US. A recent report on Microsoft's dealings with the Israeli military alleged that the company provides a customized subset of Azure to store data from intercepted telecommunications in Gaza and The West Bank, amounting to millions of text messages and full phone conversations. Sources told investigators that the data has been used to blackmail and jail Palestinians in the West Bank, and even justify killings by Israeli military forces after the fact; Microsoft said in its public report on the matter that it "does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices ... nor do we have visibility to the IMOD’s government cloud operations, which are supported through contracts with cloud providers other than Microsoft." I've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update if I receive a reply. Social Links Navigation US News Lead Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill. New report lays out Israeli military use of Microsoft services that prompted employee protests and a boycott of Xbox and Game Pass Microsoft shareholders demand report into the company's 'human rights due diligence' over allegations of war crime complicity in Gaza Microsoft's Build conference interrupted by renewed protests over its ties with the Israeli military Brian Eno, creator of the Windows 95 startup sound, calls on Microsoft to sever ties with Israel: 'If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes' 'A future has been stolen from many of us and our community will never experience an amazing game': Microsoft MMO devs respond to cancelation of project Phil Spencer reportedly loved ESO devs at ZeniMax reel from Microsoft's 'hollow' layoff emails, with some wondering how a 'carcass of workers' is 'supposed to keep shipping award-winning games' Latest in Games Battlefield 6 lead producer says 'large maps exist,' confirming the full game will offer bigger battles than the beta's cramped, chaotic firefights Remedy is 'unsatisfied' by poor sales of FBC: Firebreak and a tiny PC playerbase, but says 'despite the rocky launch, we believe we have a solid game to build on' Phoenix Labs website goes offline as Fae Farm announces the looming end of online play on Steam, and disappears entirely from Epic If you felt way too killable in the first Battlefield 6 beta weekend, you might not have imagined it: BF6 devs are investigating reports of instakill 'super bullets' Marvel Rivals' bloated DPS roster won't be solved 'overnight', creative director says: 'The heroes we are currently deciding on are for a release slot next year' How to unlock the Ultimate Badge in Peak Latest in News Battlefield 6 lead producer says 'large maps exist,' confirming the full game will offer bigger battles than the beta's cramped, chaotic firefights Krafton fires back at Unknown Worlds lawsuit, says Subnautica 2 was at risk of causing 'irreversible harm to the entire franchise' like Kerbal Space Program 2 Remedy is 'unsatisfied' by poor sales of FBC: Firebreak and a tiny PC playerbase, but says 'despite the rocky launch, we believe we have a solid game to build on' Phoenix Labs website goes offline as Fae Farm announces the looming end of online play on Steam, and disappears entirely from Epic If you felt way too killable in the first Battlefield 6 beta weekend, you might not have imagined it: BF6 devs are investigating reports of instakill 'super bullets' 'Eager to move on from failure': Ex-producer Mark Darrah thinks BioWare suffered spinning plates for EA, starving itself for talent as it ate itself alive: 'We weren't getting the people' HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Mafia: The Old Country review Arctic Xtender PC case review Corsair Platform:4 gaming desk review Wildgate review Acer Predator GM9000 2 TB NVMe SSD review PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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