The long and messy development of the controversial Six Days in Fallujah is set to last for at least another year. Publisher Victura has confirmed the first-person shooter will be delayed until the last quarter of 2022. Previously, it targeted a 2021 launch window.

Victura and Highwire Games, which counts former Destiny and Halo developers among its team, announced in February that they are reviving the game. Six Days in Fallujahfirst emerged in 2009, but following a backlash, publisher Konami backed out and developer Atomic Games wasn’t able to secure funding to finish the game. The studio shut down in 2011 and the project, then a third-person shooter, was shelved.

The game features true stories shared by dozens of marines, soldiers and Iraqi civilians who were involved in Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq in November 2004. Missions take place from the perspective of a person who was there, and they’ll provide narration about what happened, from their point of view.

As was the case the first time around, critics rallied against Six Days in Fallujah. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent Muslim advocacy group in the US, urged Sony, Microsoft and Valve to block it from their gaming platforms.

Victura CEO Peter Tamte, formerly of Atomic and Destiny studio Bungie, was widely denounced for suggesting the game would not make a political statement regarding why American soldiers were in Fallujah. The publisher later clarified that “we understand the events recreated in Six Days in Fallujah are inseparable from politics.”

Despite the black cloud hanging over the game, Victura and Highwire are forging ahead. They plan to almost double the size of the development team. “It became clear that recreating these true stories at a high quality was going to require more people, capital and time than we had,” Tamte said. “Doubling our team is just one of many things we’re doing to make sure Six Days in Fallujah brings new kinds of tactical and emotional depth to military shooters.”

Source: Engadget – Controversial Iraq War game ‘Six Days in Fallujah’ delayed until late 2022

After building hype for several years, Fisker says it’s nearly ready to bring its OceanSUV to market. At the Los Angeles motor show, the automaker unveiled a production-intent variant of the all-electric vehicle and said it planned to begin pilot production this week at a Magna-Steyr facility in Austria. According to Fisker, full-scale manufacturing will start a year from now, with deliveries following shortly thereafter.

As previously announced, the Ocean will start at $37,499 in the US before federal- and state-level subsidies. Fisker will offer the SUV in two additional trims. It will sell the Ocean Ultra for $49,999 and the Ocean Extreme for $68,999. The base-level Sport model features a single 275 horsepower motor capable of accelerating the car from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds. Meanwhile, the dual-motor Ultra model features a total output of 540 horsepower, allowing it to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds. The slightly more powerful Extreme can complete that feat in 3.6 seconds thanks to its 550 horsepower powertrain.

Fisker has yet to share the exact battery capacities of each model but estimates the Sport trim will have the ability to go 250 miles on a single charge. On the top end, the Extreme variant will feature a 350-mile range. The Extreme model will also come with a solar roof that Fisker says can add up to 2000 miles of range. Inside the cabin, the Ocean has an all-vegan interior made from recycled fishing nets, old t-shirts and renewed rubber. Another nifty addition is a 17.1-inch touchscreen display that can rotate between portrait and landscape orientations.

With a year before the Ocean starts making its way to consumers, there’s still a long wait before the SUV arrives. However, once it does arrive, the Ocean will be available for sale globally.

Source: Engadget – Fisker will start producing its Ocean electric SUV in 2022

After offering free mental health exercises at the beginning of the pandemic, Headspace has announced that it’s opening up its service for free to a particularly vulnerable group for mental stressors: teens. The company’s new Headspace for Teens initiative is fairly straightforward: Kids between 13 and 18 will be able to access a selection of exercises — including things to help you reduce stress, focus on being mindful and sleep better — at no charge. The only requirement is that they sign up to be members of the youth-focused non-profits Bring Change to Mind or Peer Health Exchange. Headspace says it also plans to extend the free offering throughout the world as it partners with more non-profits.

“Through our research, we see that teens today are under a great deal of stress and experience high levels of anxiety due to the demands of school, their jobs, extracurriculars, social life, and a general uncertainty about their futures,” Alice Nathoo, Head of Social Impact at Headspace, said in a statement. “Even though many teens have an awareness of and vocabulary for mental health issues, this doesn’t always translate to action.”

Headspace for Teens follows a similar program focused on bringing mental health support to educators. To reach a more general audience, the company also created three shows for Netflix, including an interactive entry similar to Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

Given just how anxiety-inducing the world can be these days, it makes sense for Headspace to give people a taste of the benefits from meditation, de-stressing and solid sleep habits. It’s no replacement for a therapist — as we’ve explored in our guide to finding at-home mental health support during the pandemic — but Headspace’s offerings still have the potential to help many people.

Source: Engadget – Headspace gives US teens free access to its mental health app