“Six Days in Fallujah,” a video game based on the Second Battle of Fallujah released Thursday, allows gamers to experience real-life scenarios in a first-person tactical military shooter format.
The Second Battle of Fallujah was an offensive operation led by U.S. forces and its allies during the Iraq war in the city of Fallujah, located in Iraq’s Al Anbar province. At the time, the city of Fallujah was controlled by insurgents.
The Second Battle of Fallujah lasted about six weeks, with U.S. troops fighting “house to house” against insurgent forces. While the U.S. forces, led by Marines, lost fewer than 100 troops during the battle, hundreds of U.S. troops were injured in the six-week operation. Military Times noted that the Marines who served in the Second Battle of Fallujah experienced more combat during the single battle than many U.S. troops had experienced during entire enlistment periods.
By the end of the Second Battle of Fallujah, the U.S. and its allies had successfully pushed back the insurgent forces; however, the city was ruined during the battle and hundreds of civilians were killed as a result of the violence, with thousands more impacted through injury or displacement.
“Six Days in Fallujah,” which is now available through Steam as an early access version of the game on PC for $39.99, claims it will offer “the most realistic depiction of urban combat” by its full completion in 2024.
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“Our one promise is that this is the closest that any video game has come to simulating what urban combat is like, from a soldier or Marine’s perspective, but that’s it,” Peter Tamte, CEO and founder of Victura, who is leading the effort to release the full game. “It’s a very big promise, but it’s also a very narrow promise. We’re gonna follow up on the other promises as early access progresses, but that’s all that we’re promising as we enter early access.”
According to Military Times, “Six Days in Fallujah” was first announced in 2009 and was expected to be produced by Tamte and Konami, a video game publishing company. However, the game was eventually shelved after it received criticism from military families, veterans and other people who did not appreciate the intention of the game to portray a realistic version of the Iraq War.
After years of being shelved, the game is now being released by Highwire Games, in partnership with Tamte. “Six Days in Fallujah” offers gamers an opportunity to experience real events from the battle.
“More than 100 Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians have provided thousands of photographs, hundreds of videos, and countless hours of their time to recreate these events with authenticity and respect,” a statement on the game’s website says.
