Six Days in Fallujah is a game that’s had a tumultuous development cycle. Even now, many don’t know if it’s been confirmed to release or if it’s been canceled altogether (again). It doesn’t help that the idea behind the game’s plot remains controversial to some people. We’ll cover everything we know about the game so far below.
Six Days in Fallujah release date rumors
The current incarnation of Six Days in Fallujah is being developed by Highwire Games and is slated to release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S in the latter half of 2022. When the game was reannounced last year, Highwire said it would be released in 2021. However, the studio delayed it until 2022 to add more content and polish to the title.
The original version of the game by Atomic Games was due out sometime between 2009-2012. Konami was the original publisher, but it backed out due to the controversy surrounding the game. After that, Atomic Games faced massive layoffs, and it seemed like Six Days in Fallujah was canceled. However, rumor has it that the game was completed in 2010, and the studio was just looking for a publisher. At some point, the game was allegedly in development in Sony Santa Monica, but evidently, that deal fell through.
What’s the controversy surrounding Six Days in Fallujah
Six Days in Fallujah attracted controversy because the Second Battle of Fallujah, which the game was recreating, happened in 2004. Atomic Games planned to publish it less than 4-5 years later. Obviously, this is a lot more touchy than portraying the Battle of the Bulge in a video game since it happened 80 years ago.
Over ten years later, more controversy was sparked when Muslim advocates spoke out against the recent incarnation of the game and said it’s an “Arab murder simulator” and that it would “normalize violence against Muslims in America.” Many on social media echoed similar sentiments, though to our knowledge, no one has played the game. So, we’re not sure where they got that information. From the footage we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t seem like the game is overly gratuitous, and part of the campaign has you taking the role of an Iraqi Patriarch trying to escape the fighting.
As is typical on the internet, much of the controversy has been drummed up by a small number of people who haven’t played the game deciding they don’t like it based on little or no evidence. So far, the images and videos released of Six Days in Fallujah make it seem tame compared to titles like Battlefield and Call of Duty.
What will the plot and gameplay be like?
The plot centers around the Second Battle of Fallujah, which was fought from November 7 to December 23, 2004. It was an assault on the city of Fallujah by elements of the US Marines, US Army, Navy Seabees, the UK’s Black Watch, and Iraqi Security Forces with the objective of capturing or killing jihadist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It pitted around 13,350 coalition troops against an estimated 3,700-4,000 insurgents.
Part of Six Days in Fallujah’s gameplay will put players in the boots of a US Marine as he helps to clear the city building by building. One of the game’s interesting features is that the devs have mapped out Fallujah, but the environment won’t be an exact replica. Instead, that data will be used to procedurally generate a new environment for each playthrough. This should make the tension of not knowing what’s behind the next door palpable each time you play through the game.
The other part of the game will be spent as an Iraqi civilian trying to escape the war zone. While gameplay for this part hasn’t been revealed yet, we assume it’ll center around stealth and trying to avoid both insurgents and US Marines.
