From the moment it was "re-revealed," Six Days in Fallujah has been contentious. The basic premise is that players take on the role of U.S. Marines (3rd Battalion, 1st Marines) during the Second Battle of Fallujah, a real battle of the Iraq War fought in November 2004. The game was originally going to be published by Konami back in 2009-2010, but Konami backed out due to the controversial nature of the game. That very nature of the game hasn't gone away, but it has reared its head again, with Victura currently set to publish the game on PC and consoles in late 2021.

As its premise has not changed, neither has the reaction. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, for example, has called on storefronts to ban Six Days in Fallujah, calling it an "Arab murder simulator" and stating it would "normalize violence" against Muslims. Furthermore, some war veterans have spoken against Six Days in Fallujah, questioning both its authenticity and its purpose.

RELATED: The Controversy Behind Six Days in Fallujah Explained

Game Rant recently spoke with Falafel Games CEO Vince Ghossoub regarding his stance on the game. Falafel Games is regarded as one of the top innovators in Middle East game development, and had its CEO had quite a bit to say on the subject.

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Coincidentally enough, Falafel Games was founded in 2010 around the same time that the original Six Days in Fallujah controversy was going on, so we asked what he remembered of it then:

So, I don't remember my reaction specifically to Six Days. I remember my reaction clearly, more recently when it came back to life, but back then, when Six Days was being conceptualized, I remember there was another--I forget the name of the studio and the titles--but there was a studio who was focused on a lot of politically controversial titles. And some of them had to do with Bin Laden, some had to do with Saddam...It was just very much in your face.

I think it's no longer there, but these guys drew my attention more. I think the titles are made of the same cloth as Six Days, and my reaction originally was actually quite apolitical. It was about, why do you want to do such realistic games when, more often than not, games are about escapism. It's nice to have realistic shooters and people like realistic shooters, but because it makes the game better, not because there's Saddam in it, for example.

If you look at this, my first reaction was thinking about it. Was it interesting? Was it not interesting? And for me, actually, it's not. Not at all.

RELATED: Six Days in Fallujah Creator Doesn't Think Game Needs to Portray Atrocities

Back in 2009, Six Days in Fallujah's stated goal was to "create the most realistic military shooter possible," while at the same time touting its destructive capabilities as better than Battlefield. That hasn't changed much, with the exception of perhaps the Six Days' reveal of its procedural architecture gameplay. Essentially, the map of Fallujah will never be the same exact map, meaning that it's not really Fallujah that players would find themselves in. It seems strange, then, to attach such a name to the game, and we asked Ghossoub for his opinion on this gamification:

I am not trying to be positive or negative, but I think if I hear a shooter proposing to me that it's going to be the most realistic shooter and it's going to always, like, recreate the destruction of a city, I think this is really cool. It's a good proposition, you know? Give me a realistic shooter and give me something that gets destroyed and rebuilt and all that, but that has nothing to do with a real battle, a military action, that took place in a real city...

When I see real battles take place, or games like Six Days, the first thing that comes to mind is the AA, America's Army. It's a propaganda tool. It's a training tool. It's something very practical, it's a tool, but it's a game. And in my opinion, it minimizes the game. It makes it less valuable when it becomes a tool, because I have such a high opinion as a form of art, so when it just becomes a tool, it's no longer a piece of art.

So, okay going back to that quote, I think it's a great proposition. Just don't call it Six Days in Fallujah, because then you minimize your value.

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Ghossoub also expressed that its presumably targeted market seems odd. Time and again, the military has used games like Call of Duty for recruitment, but Ghossoub doubts that this game "can really appeal to non-gamers who are 'fanatics' of the Battle of Fallujah or dying to join the Marines." As such, it seems that the game's potential role as a propaganda tool is marketed at gamers, and Ghossoub doesn't think this will work: "Gamers are so passionate about games, and they'll figure it out that these guys have something not right about their messaging--and they're trying to fix it. Gamers will get that."

Speaking of Call of Duty, many defenders of Six Days in Fallujah have likened the two games, but this is a false equivalency. Call of Duty is certainly no stranger to controversy, but even in its more realistic settings, it's typically fictional and removed from events. This is not. In terms of this discourse, Ghossoub was said there was no denying that Call of Duty is a well-made game, but believes that Six Days won't be able to match its quality:

"If it's not [as well made as Call of Duty], if it's trying to portray itself as, 'look guys, I'm not good or as well-made as Call of Duty, but I'm about a controversial topic,' this is so cheap."

Ultimately, Ghossoub feels that "it's probably not going to be as well-made as Call of Duty and [is] trying to match it by being controversial" and also explained that "even though Call of Duty has a lot of orientalist stuff, this is orientalist in your face."

Six Days in Fallujah is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

MORE: Six Days in Fallujah Developer Denies That The Game Will Be Army Recruiting Tool