Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 used real Itaewon disaster footage — families and gamers' association demand its removal
The opening cinematic of Activision's game used real news footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, in which 159 people died. Bereaved families demand a formal apology and that the clip be replaced.
The use of real news footage from the 2022 Itaewon (Seoul) crowd crush in Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has sparked outrage in South Korea. Bereaved families and civic groups are demanding that the publisher remove the footage.
Where the footage appears
The seconds-long clips appear in the game's opening cinematic — in a sequence depicting a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea, in a part showing civilian casualties. They show paramedics and bystanders performing CPR on victims, bodies lying on the road, and a victim being carried away on a stretcher.
The 2022 disaster
The footage is taken from the Itaewon disaster on Halloween night 2022: a crowd surge in a narrow alley during a crowded street party in Seoul left 159 people dead and 196 injured.
Demands and the company's response
The Korean Game Users Association called on Activision to issue a formal apology and replace the clip. Bereaved families and civic groups opposed the use of the scenes. Activision said it had included the actual news footage to convey the game's fictional story and did not intend to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-life tragedy; however, the company did not say whether it would remove the footage.
