Activision will cut real Itaewon crush footage from Modern Warfare 4

Activision is removing real-life news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, after families of the victims spoke out against its use. The publisher has apologized, and the footage is set to be cut in a November 12 update.

The crush happened on October 29, 2022, during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. 160 people died and a further 196 were injured, making it one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea's history.

Modern Warfare 4's campaign centers on a fictional North Korean invasion of the South. Its opening sequence includes a montage of in-universe news reports, and mixed into those were archival clips of rescue efforts from Itaewon, including people performing CPR, body bags lining the streets and people being carried on stretchers. PC Gamer reports the clips were used to represent the immediate aftermath of the invasion.

The game launched on consoles and PC on October 23, and the criticism followed soon after, landing close to the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and the Citizens' Countermeasures Meeting, two groups formed after the disaster, demanded the footage be removed. In a statement reported by BBC News, the families said: "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."

They added: "If the game developer has even a minimum of courtesy and empathy towards the victims, it should take corrective action without delay."

Activision's first response, reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, said the intro is "not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy". It has since apologized to those offended and committed to removing the footage.