Activision will remove real news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in an update scheduled for November 12, and has apologised to the bereaved families and victims, Inven Global reports.
The decision follows criticism in South Korea, reported since October 28, after players spotted the clip in the game's opening sequence. We couldn't check Activision's original statements directly: the official Call of Duty site can't be read by our research tools, and the first statement was given to broadcaster SBS. Everything below is attributed to the outlets that reported it.
What's in the game
As Video Games Chronicle (VGC) reported on October 28, Modern Warfare 4 mainly focuses on conflict between North Korea and South Korea. Its opening title sequence is a montage of news reports about the game's fictional full-scale North Korean invasion of the South, with newsreader voiceovers laid over archival clips taken from actual news reports.
One of those clips, a brief shot of a paramedic giving CPR to someone lying on the floor, was identified by some South Korean players as footage from the Itaewon crowd crush, according to VGC. That disaster happened during Halloween 2022 in Seoul, when a crowd surge in a narrow alleyway during a heavily populated street party led to 159 deaths and 196 injuries, VGC reported.
The families' demand
Citing South Korean broadcaster SBS, VGC reported that the Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association released a statement demanding that Activision remove the clip. "Using such an incident as material for a game meant for entertainment purposes is itself highly inappropriate and insensitive," the statement reads, in SBS's English translation as quoted by VGC.
The Korea Game Users Association, a consumer rights advocacy group, also called on Activision to edit the clip out, VGC reported. It asked for "a clear explanation of the circumstances and an apology" and said it hoped Activision would "respond responsibly by conducting an update to replace the footage."
Activision's statement to SBS, quoted by VGC, acknowledged that "some of the actual news report footage included in the game's opening cinematic was utilized as an element to convey the fictional narrative within the work." The company added: "We had no intention whatsoever to reference or treat lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon disaster."
The removal and the apology
Inven Global reports that Activision released an official statement on October 30, one week after the game's release and two days after its first statement. In Inven Global's translation, the company called Modern Warfare 4 "a work of fiction created to provide realistic immersion" and said it "never intended to evoke or trivialize any tragic event, including the Itaewon crowd crush."
"The video footage in question will be completely removed through a game update scheduled for distribution on November 12," the statement continues, according to Inven Global. Activision also said it bows its head "in deep sympathy and apology to the bereaved families and victims who were deeply hurt by this incident, as well as to everyone we have caused concern."
The government weighs in
The issue had already reached South Korea's government. At a press briefing on October 29, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung described the inclusion of the footage as "secondary harm" and said, "I believe appropriate sanctions should be imposed," Inven Global reports in its translation.
According to the same report, Yun said that using such a tragedy "as material for a game, a form of entertainment or business, is something that should be refrained from as a matter of human ethics." The minister also said that "whether to impose punishment or block it to make general access difficult is a decision that relevant agencies should make."
For players, the practical upshot is a date: Activision's statement, as Inven Global reports it, puts the removal in the update scheduled for November 12.
Mason's take: Stitching real news clips into a fictional war montage is a quick way to make a game feel authentic, and I'd argue that feeling is a big part of what a Modern Warfare campaign is selling. But real footage isn't a texture you can drop in without knowing exactly what it shows. A shot of someone receiving CPR isn't generic emergency b-roll; it can be a specific night that families are still grieving. Activision has landed on the right answer, an apology and a removal date. But it came after a public demand from the bereaved families and a minister's comments, not before them. Any studio building a story out of archive news should know what every frame shows before it ships.
Reporting notes
