The bumpy development history of Six Days in Fallujah is coming to a temporary end. Soon the game will be released in Early Access.
After a long period of silence about the shooter, a new trailer was released a few weeks ago. Now it is also known when Six Days in Fallujah will be released: From 22 June 2023, an Early Access version will be available on Steam. The controversial depiction of a battle of the Iraq war has probably not changed much.
What is Six Days in Fallujah?
Six Days in Fallujah is a tactical single-player and co-op shooter in which you shall experience the battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was captured by US and British troops during the Iraq War in 2004.
At the Early Access release, co-op missions for 4 players will initially be available, and the shooter will gradually be expanded to include more maps, missions, weather effects and times of day.
The game focuses mainly on the American perspective and wants to depict the house-to-house combat against Iraqi insurgents as realistically as possible, as the latest trailer also shows – later on, campaign missions are also to follow, inspired by real stories and accompanied by commentary from Americans and Iraqis.
Why is the shooter controversial?
Even when Six Days in Fallujah was announced in 2009, it caused an outcry in the US. Many found the realistic depiction of a battle that had taken place only five years earlier distasteful and disrespectful to the former combatants.
Publisher Konami jumped ship as a result of the scandal, and the developer responsible went bankrupt. However, many years later, in 2021, the game was then revived by a new development studio and an interested publisher.
But the shooter is also criticised for other reasons. For example, the game focuses primarily on an American perspective of the battle and the highly controversial Iraq War. Some people even see it as a propagandistic work of art that is supposed to positively emphasise the role of the USA. There are also critical comments that the framework conditions of the conflict are left out of the picture.
The developers defend themselves against the criticism. On the (official website of the game) it is said that both American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will have their say in documentary interviews in the game. Moreover, one plays not only as a US soldier, but also as an unarmed Iraqi family man who wants to flee the city.
In addition, controversial aspects of the battle will also be addressed, such as the use of phosphorus bombs and uranium munitions, the use of which against civilians was prohibited by the Geneva Convention
Whether Six Days in Fallujah can offer a valuable and instructive narrative from the Iraq War, or ultimately remains far too one-dimensional, will probably only become clear at release, or in the course of Early Access. Initially, only co-op missions will probably be available, and it is not clear whether they will rely on the announced expanded perspective and interviews with soldiers and civilians.
