Iraq War game Six Days in Fallujah was first announced in 2009 and immediately drummed up controversy for its desire to turn the horrific real-world events of the Second Battle of Fallujah into a video game. The backlash surrounding the original?Six Days in Fallujah was so intense that Konami decided to drop out of being its publisher and the game itself was soon canceled. Fast forward to 2021, and now Highwire Games is looking to release a new version of?Six Days in Fallujah.
Just like in 2009 and 2010, there has been some intense backlash to?Six Days in Fallujah. Game developers and Iraq War veterans have spoken out against?Six Days in Fallujah, and publisher Victura has had to release several statements speaking in its defense. Now yet another group has criticized?Six Days in Fallujah, calling on Microsoft, Sony, and Valve to ban the game from sale on their digital marketplaces.
Muslim advocacy group?The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released a statement on?Six Days in Fallujah. In its statement, the group describes?Six Days in Fallujah as "an Arab murder simulator" and said that it will "normalize violence" against Muslims. Further, the CAIR believes that?Six Days in Fallujah and other video games like it glorify real-life violence, justify the Iraq War, and "reinforce anti-Muslim sentiment."
Neither developer Highwire Games nor publisher Victura have responded to CAIR's comments at the time of this writing. However, Victura has addressed the?general controversy surrounding?Six Days in Fallujah in the past. That being said, some of the comments that the publisher has made about?Six Days in Fallujah have made the backlash against the game even more severe. For example, Victura received a lot of criticism when it said?Six Days in Fallujah isn't trying to be a political commentary.
For the most part, the conversation surrounding?Six Days in Fallujah has been focused on the game's controversial content.?Six Days in Fallujah trailers have mostly failed to steer the conversation in another direction, though there has been some buzz about what it's bringing to the table gameplay-wise. One of the more interesting features in the game is?Six Days in Fallujah's procedural architecture, which could make for a unique first-person shooter experience.
Six Days in Fallujah is aiming for release in 2021, and so it seems unlikely that it will get canceled like the previous iteration of the game. Even so,?Six Days in Fallujah will likely remain mired controversy.
Six Days in Fallujah is launching this year for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: GameSpot
