Steam's most controversial shooter finally begins early access after 18 years

Controversial Steam shooter Six Days in Fallujah has finally entered early access after an 18-year hiatus.

Developed by Highwire Games and published by Victura, Six Days in Fallujah is a realistic first-person tactical shooter based on “true events”, namely a controversial battle that took place between US marines and Iraqi soldiers in 2004. The game’s description refers to this as “the toughest urban battle since 1968”.

Originally, Six Days in Fallujah was due to be released in 2010. However, then-publisher Konami announced in 2009 that it had parted ways with then-developers Atomic Games due to the contentious themes of the game. Atomic Games eventually went bankrupt in 2011, with Highwire Games assuming development duties. This takeover didn’t take place until 2021 though. Now, two years later, Six Days in Fallujah is finally entering its early access period on Steam.

Announcing this update, the Highwire team said, “We're making Six Days available now in the hope of attracting an enthusiastic community of players who are interested in a real-world tactical shooter and can help us shape Six Days for years to come.”

In a press release issued by Victura, CEO Peter Tamte said, “It's hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places. 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 It's time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be.”

The early access build includes four co-op missions playable with up to four players. The procedurally generated maps aim to “recreate the uncertainty of combat”. Eventually, further co-op missions will be added alongside a story campaign.

Six Days in Fallujah is coming to PlayStation and Xbox consoles at a later date.