NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News
11 years after its cancellation, the Iraq war game Six Days in Fallujah has been revived.
Originally developed by Atomic Games, the controversial game was dropped by publisher Konami in 2009 following criticism from the press, military veterans and anti-war group Stop the War Coalition, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz at the time.
In a press release, Victura – a publisher founded by Atomic’s former CEO – has announced that the first-person military tactical shooter will be coming to PC and consoles in 2021.
Development is being handled by Highwire Games, whose core members previously hailed from Bungie, the creators of Halo and Destiny.
Take a look at the announcement trailer for Six Days in Fallujah below.
Retelling the Second Battle for Fallujah in 2004 from the perspective of US soldiers as authentically as possible remains the game and Victura’s key vision.
The company claims that this aims to be “the most authentic military shooter to date”, taking into account the stories of “over 100 marines, soldiers, and Iraqi civilians who were present during the battle, who have shared their personal stories, photographs, and video recordings with the development team”.
“It’s hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places,” said Victura CEO Peter Tamte in a prepared statement.
“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 It’s time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be.”
In 2009, Tim Collins OBE, a former colonel famed for an eve-of-battle speech in 2003, had said in GamesIndustry.biz’s report, “It’s much too soon to start making video games about a war that’s still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history.”
The idea for Six Days in Fallujah was however first proposed in 2005 by former Marine Sergeant Eddie Garcia who participated and was wounded in the Battle for Fallujah.
“Sometimes the only way to understand what’s true is to experience reality for yourself,” he said, as quoted in the press release.
“War is filled with uncertainty and tough choices that can’t be understood by watching someone on a TV or movie screen make these choices for you. Video games can help all of us understand real-world events in ways other media can’t.”
The post Cancelled Iraq war game ‘Six Days in Fallujah’ has been revived appeared first on NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News.
