American video game publisher Activision announced Friday that it will remove controversial footage from its newly released military shooter after an intense public outcry in South Korea over the inclusion of real-life scenes from the deadly 2022 Halloween crowd crush in Seoul. The global release of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4” arrived just days before the October 29 anniversary of the disaster in the capital’s nightlife district of Itaewon, where a crowd of tens of thousands surged out of control in a narrow alley, resulting in nearly 160 deaths.
The game, which centers on a fictional North Korean invasion of the South, features approximately 10 seconds of heavily edited footage depicting the aftermath of a Pyongyang attack. While the sequence does not explicitly name the Itaewon crowd crush, it incorporates actual news visuals of people performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation amid chaotic and desperate street scenes.
Groups representing families of the victims had demanded an immediate retraction, characterizing the use of real-life tragedy as appalling. In a joint statement issued Friday, the Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and the Itaewon Disaster Citizens’ Countermeasures Committee asserted that if the developer held any respect or empathy for the victims, it must take prompt corrective action.
Activision, a California-based subsidiary of Microsoft, issued an apology and confirmed that the footage would be completely excised via a game update scheduled for release on November 12. According to South Korean public broadcaster MBC, the company stated that the title was created as a fictional work for immersive entertainment. Activision emphasized that in utilizing actual news clips, it never intended to evoke any tragic incident, including the Itaewon disaster, or to trivialize the suffering of those affected.
The controversy emerged as grieving families continue to seek accountability for the failures that led to the tragedy four years ago. The ongoing judicial investigation has seen nearly two dozen officials charged and three former police officers imprisoned. On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung released a statement on X vowing that his government would uncover the truth, noting that on the night a joyful autumn gathering turned horrific, the state was absent.
For some gamers, the inclusion struck a deeply personal chord. Lee Jin Woo, who lost his 28-year-old younger sister in the crush and works at a South Korean gaming company, said he initially failed to spot the sequence while playing. After realizing its origin, however, he felt a profound sense of betrayal from a franchise and studio he had long admired.
Lee Mi Hyun, a director at the Itaewon Disaster Citizens’ Countermeasures Committee, criticized the developer’s creative choice in an interview. Whether discussing actual warfare or the crowd crush, both events involved real human suffering, she noted, adding that turning such anguish into entertainment demonstrated an absolute lack of empathy.
The game’s overarching premise—depicting South Korean conscripts defending their homeland alongside U.S. forces following a North Korean invasion—has drawn domestic political debate independent of the footage controversy. The narrative mirrors North Korea’s real-life capture of Seoul in 1950 during the Korean War, which concluded with a 1953 armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, leaving the two nations technically at war amid recent cross-border tensions and stalled diplomacy.
South Korean politicians expressed sharply divided views on the title’s thematic backdrop. Han Dong-hoon, an opposition legislator, suggested viewing the game as a warning that prompts reflection on national preparedness. Conversely, Kim Han Kyu, a member of President Lee’s governing Democratic Party, defended the setting, asking Thursday on Facebook if it would not be stranger for war games to avoid depicting conflicts against North Korea. Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Ahn Cheol Soo used the game to criticize the administration’s diplomatic posture, suggesting the president play it to reevaluate threats from the North.
Despite the backlash, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4” has achieved significant commercial traction. Aiming to revitalize the franchise after recent struggles, Activision designed the title as a grounded, cinematic military shooter. Chief Marketing Officer Tyler Bahl told “The Game Business Show” earlier this month that the company listened closely to player feedback to restore the edge and authenticity the series is known for. By Friday, the title ranked as the top-selling game on Steam in both South Korea and the United States, earning praise from reviewers who viewed it as a return to form for the long-running franchise.
