Greetings!
I know Insurgency is about Middle East mostly and it's way too early to consider adding new environmental settings.
Russia/USSR had plenty of insurgent conflicts of different scales, and has them even today. I'm curious if you could consider moving towards Russian Special Forces (СПЕЦНАЗ/ОМОН) vs. Bandits/Insurgents in environments that feature more Russian/Soviet style architecture. Perhaps as a DLC or maybe a spin-off. You can take southern post-USSR because it's pretty much desert (all asset's you'd need for this are blocky houses and simple "soviet" furniture), and then you could move your way up-north with new assets for vegetation etc.
Pros of RU/Post-USSR setting:
- You will surely get more community support thanks to recognizeable environments and a huge base for memes (middle-eastern "haram" is great but is literally centuries old, I think you could use "cheeki breeki" and "cyka blyat"). A lot of Russians seemed to love Insurgency. I'm Russian too
You have "4 stripe fake adidas" clothing options in the beta (much appreciated!), it would fit perfectly for the Bandits/Insurgents. Personally I see the "4 stripe fake adidas" not just as an easter egg, but also as a hint that you are aware of the slav/gopnik style/culture. - Suggests new approach to game modes (e.g. counter-terrorist siege operation; these were/are quite frequent IRL in garage complexes and suburb areas).
- You already have nearly entire weapon base ready for this setting. Just need more modern variations of Soviet/Russian weapons for Security forces (AK-100 series and some other).
- Post-USSR architecture is simple and blocky, so it shouldn't be as difficult to craft as your current maps.
Cons:
- New environment setting means a lot of work for artists and entirely new VA.
- You are focused on polishing the Middle-East setting right now.
I'm eager to get into Insurgency modding once you make workshop integrations! I'm sure people will try with different environmental settings, including the one I mentioned, because we've seen that happen for Insurgency 2014.