Controversial Game 'Six Days in Fallujah' Makes Comeback in 2021

Six Days in Fallujah, a military shooter focused on the Iraq War, is set to come out in late 2021 after being canceled back in 2009 due to controversy.

SDIF was supposed to be the first video game to focus directly on the Iraq War. It was slated to release in 2010, which many thought made it too close to the actual time period it covered to be appropriate. Many to this day still feel very strongly about the events that took place in 2004, so Konami decided to not publish the game once the controversy began.

Reg Keys, whose son was killed in Iraq, told the Daily Mail in 2009 that "these horrific events should be confined to the annuls of history, not trivialized and rendered for thrill-seekers to play out."

The original studio behind the game, Atomic Games, went bankrupt in 2011.

However, in February 2021, Highwire Games announced that they were developing the game and that it would be published by Victura. Don't worry, I don't know those names either. It's actually Victura's first project, according to their website.

Peter Tamte, head of Victura, told Polygon that the game would not address the political themes that lead to the actual conflict. The game's intent is to make the player feel empathy for the American troops that survived the Second Battle of Fallujah.

Tamte understands that players may disagree with empathizing with the American troops from that time. He, however, just wants players to "understand the complexity of urban combat." Whether or not the war itself was "good or bad" will not be explored in the game.

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If you've stuck around through the controversy and are still interested in the game itself, IGN released some trailers you can watch here.

What I think makes this game at least somewhat unique is the fact that the developers are trying to tell a story never told due to the controversy surrounding it. The game's website says that over 100 Marines and soldiers helped throughout the game's development. Even Iraqi civilians have been interviewed so the developers could properly tell their stories.

With procedurally-generated maps, you'll never be truly comfortable walking into any building, as it'll be completely new to you every time you play. This was done to mimic how a soldier would feel in actual combat.

Knowing the controversy surrounding the game's development, its "survival horror" gameplay, and the fact that I already love military games that make me feel awful (Spec Ops: The Line is a fantastic game and it'll make you feel absolutely horrible, so go play it), my interest has been piqued.

Six Days in Fallujah is set to release in late 2021 for last-gen and next-gen Sony and Microsoft consoles, as well as PC. This'll definitely be a project I'll be keeping my eye on for multiple reasons.