When Unreal Tournament 2003 (2002) was released, many players complained about the lack of a very popular game type called "Assault". Returning in UT2004 to great fanfare, the game type was quickly ignored for the more popular "Onslaught" game type.
In 2004, Epic Games held the "Make Something Unreal Contest", which rewarded the creators of the best-submitted modifications with prizes in cash, computer hardware, and, ultimately, a license for commercial use of Unreal Engine 2 and 3. Red Orchestra, a total conversion modification based on the Eastern Front of World War II and focused on realism-oriented gameplay, was the winner of the contest and is available as a retail title on Steam.