The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington DC-based civil rights and Muslim advocacy group, asks Valve, Microsoft and Sony to refuse to distribute Six Days in Fallujah.
The tactical first-person shooter, based on the real events of the second battle of Fallujah, has been a political case for decades, and now that its release approaches, the controversy inevitably increases. We already told you about it a few weeks ago, when the content creator and developer Alanah Pearce he talked about the threats he had received before he could talk about the game.
“We ask Microsoft, Sony and Valve to ban their platforms from hosting Six Days in Fallujah, an Arab murder simulator that will only normalize violence against Muslims in America and around the world”said Huzaifa Shahbaz, CAIR’s research and defense coordinator.
“The gaming industry must stop dehumanizing Muslims. Video games like Six Days in Fallujah only serve to glorify the violence that killed hundreds of Iraqi civilians, justify the war in Iraq and strengthen anti-Muslim sentiment at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry continues to threaten human life. “
Six Days in Fallujah was originally announced in 2009, but the controversial topic has led the publisher Konami to step back from the project, effectively interrupting it. We thought the project had now been shelved, but in February 2021 Six Days in Fallujah was unexpectedly announced again with development now in the hands of a new studio, Highwire Games, and a new publisher, Victura.
Highwire and Victura described SDIF as a game that will tell a story “With service members and civilians with different experiences and views on the Iraq war”with documentary segments on “Many difficult topics, including the events and political decisions that led to the battles in Fallujah and their aftermath.”
However, it seems that the game will not re-propose the real events in all respects: for example, players will not be able to use white phosphorus ammunitionalthough the US government has admitted that such incendiary weapons were used in Fallujah.
The biggest complaint, however, is that Six Days in Fallujah will present a supportive and pro-American perspective on a battle that has claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians. Daniel Ahmad, industry analyst, has already spoken about these problems on several occasions, defining the shooter as an unfortunate attempt to justify the violence and war in Iraq.
Six Days in Fallujah is expected to be out later this year, although a definitive release date has not yet been set. On Steam it is currently possible to add it to your wish list, but we will closely follow the evolution of the story.
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