Activision to remove Itaewon tragedy footage from Call of Duty

Activision has announced it will remove real-life footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in South Korea from the opening cinematic of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The decision follows intense backlash from bereaved families and civic groups who condemned the use of the footage as “highly inappropriate and thoughtless.”

The footage, which depicts paramedics performing CPR and bodies lying in the street, was used to illustrate the aftermath of a fictional North Korean invasion. While the game is a commercial success, critics argued that using such a recent and traumatic event for entertainment purposes showed a “complete lack of sensitivity” to the victims and survivors.

Activision issued an official apology to the victims and their families, stating that the news clips were used to convey the fictional story and that they had “absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events.” The company plans to implement the removal via a game update scheduled for November 12.