Cancelled Iraq War Shooter 'Six Days in Fallujah Back' in Development

Six Days in Fallujah, the previously-cancelled first person shooter based on true stories from the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, has unexpectedly returned from the dead and will be releasing on consoles and Steam at some point this year.

As some of the older gamers among us will remember, the original Six Days in Fallujah was dropped by Konami in 2009 after it received widespread criticism stemming from the game’s controversial depiction of events that were, at the time, still fresh in people’s memories. Despite the game being developed in partnership with Marines who fought in Fallujah, critics complained that playing as a U.S. Marine in a battle that killed thousands of civilians was in poor taste, especially considering that the game was slated to release just three years after the the US Army’s infamous “troop surge”.

However, now the game is back in development with a new publisher, Victura, as well as a new developer. The developer, Highwire Games, is made up of industry veterans, including a leadership team who created the original Halo and Destiny games. It promises to offer the same grounded first-person combat as it did in 2009, but this time it will allow people to understand a historical event instead of an ongoing conflict.

"It's hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places," said Peter Tamte, CEO of Victura. "This generation showed sacrifice and courage in Iraq as remarkable as any in history. And now they're offering the rest of us a new way to understand one of the most important events of our century. It's time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be."

This new version of the tactical shooter has already come under fire from industry leaders, including former Vlambeer (the guys behind Luftrausers) developer Rami Ismail. 

“I know I said I wish they wouldn't make games in which you massacre evil stereotypes of my people in absurd mockeries of our lands for the entertainment of those whose countries' harm us, but I think I need to be more specific in my wishes,” said Ismail in a tweet on Thursday.

However, in a press release, Victura stressed the fact that the game is once again being worked on with over 100 Marines, soldiers and Iraqi civilians who were present during the Second Battle of Fallujah who have shared their stories and photographs with the development team. 

In a time when Arma, Squad even Call of Duty are pushing anti-war messages as first-person shooters, there’s a good chance that Six Days in Fallujah will actually make it to release this time, just in time for me to write another anti-war story. More details about the game are expected to be released in the coming weeks, and when those become available, you can be sure to read about them here on Jump Dash Roll.