Atomic President: Studio 'Caught By Surprise' By Fallujah Dropping

Author: by Chris Remo, Leigh Alexander

Atomic Games, developer of controversial action game Six Days in Fallujah, was "caught...by surprise" by Konami's decision not to publish the title, said studio president Peter Tamte. In a statement delivered today to Gamasutra, Tamte said, "Development of the game had been progressing very well and on schedule. We would very much like the opportunity to complete the game." Since its announcement, Six Days has attracted considerable controversy for its depiction of 2004's Second Battle of Fallujah. North Carolina-based Atomic learned of Konami's decision late last week. The decision was made public yesterday. At the time of the announcement, a Konami representative explained, "After seeing the reaction to the videogame in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it." In his statement, Tamte did not address Atomic's immediate plans for the game, as to whether the studio will attempt to self-fund the game, or put development on hold until a new publisher is found. The full text of the statement from Atomic Games to Gamasutra is as follows: "We were informed on Thursday night that Konami had decided to pull out of Six Days in Fallujah. This caught us by surprise. Development of the game had been progressing very well and on schedule. We would very much like the opportunity to complete the game."