Initially entitled U-WARS and Underwater Wars, Russian studio Biart announced their publishing deal with 505 Games in July 2010, with a planned Q1 2011 release.

The game features an orchestral score written by Jeremy Soule, best known for his work in the Elder Scrolls and Guild Wars series.

Most of the action in Deep Black takes place underwater, with players navigating the depths with "specialized underwater jet packs with integrated harpoons, mini submersibles and other high tech equipment."

[6] Reviews criticized poor animations and story, while praising the underwater control mechanics.

[7][8] Writing for Official Xbox Magazine, Andrew Hayward rated the game a 2/10, criticizing the "obnoxiously tacky dialogue" and referring to the game as a "joyless, grace-free slog dominated by repetitive stop-and-pop shootouts, lifeless linear environments, and inconsistent weapon physics, not to mention full-stop gameplay pauses during certain actions.