The development studio behind tactical shooter Six Days in Fallujah has accused the game’s publisher of an “unlawful means conspiracy” to hijack the intellectual property in a filing to the UK High Court.
In a legal breakdown by law firm Lewis Silkin, the court has reportedly declined competing interim relief applications from both the developer Victura Inc., and the publisher, Secret Mode Ltd., and the case will be openly litigated in the UK High Court. Both parties are seeking to take control of the Six Days in Fallujah IP and its source code, claiming to the court that they both have the funds to independently fund its ongoing development and release.
The case is centered on a failed development milestone in the production of Six Days in Fallujah. Publisher Secret Mode reportedly rejected a build sent by developer Victura’s during a milestone review for poor technical performance, long loading times and problems with the game’s AI enemy system. Two further resubmissions were also rejected, leading to the publisher to exercise its controversial step-in rights.
Both parties are seeking to take control of the Six Days in Fallujah IP […] claiming to the court that they both have the funds to independently fund its ongoing development and release.
As per the contract between Victura Inc. and Secret Mode Ltd., failing two milestone reviews would result in the publisher being granted full operational control of Six Days in Fallujah to ensure it received proper development prior to launch. The developer would also have to surrender the game’s valuable source code to the publisher—described by the judge as “the keys to the castle” as the game’s entire existence hinges on this information.
Failed milestone reviews would also result in the publisher’s revenue cut increasing to 75%, up from a 50-50 split with the developer outlined in the original publishing agreement between the parties.
Victura Inc. Cries Wolf and Claims “Unlawful” Conspiracy
Victura Inc. has decried Secret Mode Ltd’s actions during development of the game, claiming that the publisher falsely engineered the milestone rejections in bad faith in order to wrest control of the IP away from the developer and claim the source code for its own ends. The developer also claimed that Secret Mode Ltd. unfairly exercised its step-in rights for financial gain, instead of its intended application to protect investors.
In interim relief applications to the court, Victura Inc. sought a blanket ban on the publisher’s contractual options, while Secret Mode Ltd. vied for immediate access to Six Days in Fallujah’s source code. Both applications were rejected, with the judge ruling that release of the source code would cause “irreversible harm”, setting the stage for a full trial where both sides will air their grievances and claims of conspiracy and contract breaches.
Despite the ongoing court battle, Six Days in Fallujah continues to be available on Steam and is supported by major updates guided by player feedback. A full release was expected by the end of 2025, but it remains in the platform’s Early Access program with little information available about when fans can expect the whole package to launch.
The legal fight also comes just months after the death of Jeremy Faucomprez (aka Mxthe), a senior gameplay designer on Six Days in Fallujah and a decorated developer. Faucomprez made a name for himself developing the popular Underhell mod for Half-Life 2, before moving onto other shooters like Insurgency, Day of Infamy, and Insurgency: Sandstorm. The developer struggled with mental health troubles and fans praised his final work in Six Days of Fallujah, a new mission launched in the Spring 2025, as an essential addition to the game.
Six Days in Fallujah’s Cursed Development
The saga is just another chapter in the tumultuous development of tactical shooter Six Days in Fallujah, which began more than 20 years ago and has faced years of delays and controversy.
Originally conceived as a realistic recreation of the Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War in November 2004, the game had its origins when returning U.S. Marines approached Texas-based Atomic Games to create a title which documented their real-world conflict experiences. The studio was on board and began to flesh out Six Days of Fallujah using direct interviews with servicemen, military logs and battlefield reporting.
After four years of development and with publisher Konami on board, the game was announced in April 2009 but sparked a major backlash and drew heavy criticism from military veterans over the ethics of depicting a then-ongoing war in video game format. Due to the heat, Konami pulled out as publisher just weeks later and Atomic Games went bankrupt in 2011 after being unable to secure a new publishing partner or any future financial backing.
The saga is just another chapter in the tumultuous development of tactical shooter Six Days in Fallujah, which began more than 20 years ago.
Miraculously, Six Days in Fallujah was revived when Atomic Games head Peter Tamte founded Victura Inc. and rebuilt the game from scratch, re-announcing the project in 2021. After launching in Steam Early Access in 2023, the game performed well and raked in over $23 million in revenue and things seemed rosy.
However, the fresh dispute over the IP and source code further feathers the controversy cap that has plagued Six Days of Fallujah since its inception. The situation echoes previous court battles, such as that of Subnautica 2, whose ousted CEO regained full operational authority of the game earlier this year before leaving the studio altogether.
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