Steam's most controversial shooter is finally releasing after 18 years

Steam’s most controversial shooter is finally releasing after an 18-year hiatus.

Six Days in Fallujah is a tactical first-person shooter based on “true events” and tells the real-life stories of a controversial battle between U.S marines and Iraqi soldiers in 2004. The game was originally supposed to be released in 2010.

However, prior to its 2010 launch window, the then-publisher Konami announced in 2009 that it was no longer handling the game due to its controversial themes. Yet, its original developer, Atomic Games still had intentions to release Six Days in Fallujah, but the studio went bankrupt in 2011.

Then in February 2021, Six Days in Fallujah was announced to make a comeback and this time it would be developed by Highwire Games with Victura publishing. Following its revival, the game was supposed to release for PC and consoles later that year. Obviously, that particular release window has long been missed.

A press release issued by Victura claims that Six Days in Fallujah: “gives these stories voice through gameplay and first-person accounts captured in original documentary interview footage”.

“It's hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places,” says 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 It's time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be.”

Spending so many years in hiatus, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Six Days in Fallujah had long been forgotten, but as reported by PC Gamer, the military shooter is finally releasing later this month on Steam.

Six Days in Fallujah will initially release on PC Steam as an early access title and will include four co-op missions playable with up to four players on procedurally generated maps that aim to: “recreate the uncertainty of combat.”

At a later date, developer Highwire intends to release further co-op missions “as well as story campaign missions recreating real stories from the Second Battle of Fallujah from the perspective of both coalition forces and Iraqi civilians.”

Six Days in Fallujah will also be released for all current-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles at a later date. At the time of writing, a console release date hasn't been announced.