PlayStation, Xbox and Valve called on to drop Six Days in Fallujah

A prominent Muslim advocacy organisation has called for PlayStation, Xbox and Valve to drop controversial shooter Six Days in Fallujah.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights charity in the US, issued the call in a press release which brings the game's subject matter back into the spotlight once again.

Calling the game an "Arab murder simulator", CAIR linked to Rebekah Valentine's recent article for IGN on the game, "Six Days in Fallujah Is Complicated and Painful For Those Connected to the Real Events," and an article from Turkish-state owned news outlet TRT World, "Six Days in Fallujah reveals the gaming industry's Islamophobia problem."

In its statement, CAIR said game would "only normalise violence against Muslims in America and around the world".

"The gaming industry must stop dehumanising Muslims," CAIR spokesperson Huzaifa Shahbaz said. "Video games like Six Days in Fallujah only serve to glorify violence that took the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians, justify the Iraq war, and reinforce anti-Muslim sentiment at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry continues to threaten human life."

Six Days in Fallujah re-emerged in February, 11 years after it was ditched by publisher Konami following significant criticism from the mainstream press. Controversy surrounding the game immediately reignited over its setting and portrayals of US soldiers and Iraqi civilians, and Peter Tamte, boss of developer Victura, was forced into a public U-turn over comments the game would not be a "political statement either way". Re-framed as a shooter with "documentary segments" and now "inseparable from politics", Victura attempted to get its PR campaign back on track, though things were derailed once more by a widely-criticised first reveal of its gameplay.

"We call on Microsoft, Sony and Valve to ban their platforms from hosting Six Days in Fallujah," CAIR wrote. We've contacted Microsoft, Sony and Valve for comment.