(WASHINGTON D.C., 10/8/2021) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Veterans for Peace today repeated their call on Xbox, Sony PlayStation, and Valve-Steam to not host or digitally distribute the soon-to-be-released video game "Six Days in Fallujah," developed by Highwire Games and published by Victura.
On August 25th, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and Veterans for Peace Garett Reppenhagen sent a letter to Microsoft Corporation Executive Vice President of Gaming Phil Spencer, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan, Valve Corporation President Gabe Newell calling for their request that Microsoft (Xbox), Sony (PlayStation) and Valve (Steam) decline to host or digitally distribute the soon-to-be-released video game "Six Days in Fallujah," developed by Highwire Games and published by Victura.
In their letter, Awad and Reppenhagen state in part:
"CAIR and Veterans For Peace believe that the game is fundamentally an "Arab murder simulator" that glorifies violence that took the lives of over 800 Iraqi civilians, justifies the illegal invasion of Iraq, and reinforces Islamophobic narratives.
"The Second Battle of Fallujah was a violent and bloody battle during the Iraq War that left more than 800 civilians dead. The tragic episode was heavily criticized for the U.S. military's tactics, including the use of white phosphorus. In the years since the battle, numerous Iraqi babies have been born in Fallujah with serious birth defects.
"When the game was initially announced back in 2009 by Atomic Games, it received widespread criticism from the public, anti-war organizations, and veterans, forcing then-publisher Konami to drop the project. In 2016, former CEO of Atomic Games, Peter Tamte, formed his publishing studio, Victura, to support the game's reemergence in 2021
"In a critical write-up of Six Days in Fallujah's March six-minute teaser trailer, American video game and entertainment media website IGN openly questioned the game's 'risk of contributing to an ongoing culture of generalized, racist, and dehumanizing portrayals of Arab, Muslim, and Middle Eastern cultures across all entertainment.'
"We believe that the gaming industry must stop dehumanizing Muslims. Video games like Six Days in Fallujah encourages a culture that seeks to glorify violence that has killed hundreds of Iraqi civilians, attempts to justify the Iraq war, and reinforces anti-Muslim sentiment at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry continues to threaten human life."
READ THE FULL LETTER: