Families Demand Activision Remove Seoul Crush Footage From MW4

Bereaved families connected to the 2022 Seoul Halloween crowd crush have publicly demanded that Activision remove real footage of the Itaewon disaster from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, saying its use in a video game is “highly inappropriate and senseless.”

What Appears in the Game

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, developed by Infinity Ward, centers on a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. As IGN reports, the game’s opening montage briefly features real footage from the Itaewon crush, presented with heavy visual filters and effects layered over it. The actual crush occurred in October 2022, when approximately 100,000 people flooded the narrow streets of the Itaewon neighborhood for Halloween celebrations, the first major unrestricted gathering of that kind following pandemic lockdowns. Nearly 160 people died in the disaster.

Families Speak Out

According to IGN, the families issued a formal statement saying they were “appalled” by the decision. “We cannot help but be appalled that the chaotic and desperate scene, in which many citizens at the site performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the freezing street, was used as it was to create a scene in a game,” the statement read. The families went further, calling on Activision to act fast: “If the game developer has even a minimum of courtesy and empathy towards the victims, it should take corrective action without delay.”

Activision’s Response

In a statement provided to IGN, Activision defended the choice, saying the real-world news coverage was included to “establish the game’s fictional narrative” and that it was not intended to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy. The company did not directly address the families’ request to have the footage removed. Separately, Call of Duty chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl, speaking to the BBC about broader criticism over the game’s Korean conflict setting, said: “We have to understand this is entertainment.”

Broader Criticism

The controversy over the Itaewon footage is not the only pushback Modern Warfare 4 has faced. The game has drawn criticism from some for building its fictional conflict around a scenario that carries real anxieties for people living on the Korean Peninsula. Activision has not announced any changes to the game’s content in response to the families’ demands.

Sources: IGN