Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to remove real Itaewon crush footage in 12 November update

Activision will remove real news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crush in Seoul from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in the game's next update on 12 November, after families of the victims protested, the BBC reported on 30 October. The company has apologised.

The clips appear in the game's opening scene, where they are used to set up a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. They show the real aftermath of the disaster: people carried on stretchers, body bags in the street and bystanders giving CPR.

Call of Duty Itaewon footage: what happened

Why the families were angry

The crush happened on Halloween night in 2022, when more than 100,000 people packed the narrow alleys of Seoul's Itaewon district. The streets became so crowded that people could not move or breathe, and almost 160 people died.

In a statement on Thursday, the families said they could not help being "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 to create a scene in a game". Using it "as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless," they said. Rescuers and witnesses, they added, still live with the trauma.

What Activision said

Activision confirmed it had used real news coverage "to establish the game's fictional narrative", but said it had "not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form". On Friday it offered condolences and apologised to the families and victims hurt by it.

The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association, named after the date of the crush, welcomed the decision but told the BBC it had not received a direct apology.

Already a controversial game

Modern Warfare 4 had drawn criticism before this, for building its story on a North Korean invasion of the South: the two Koreas stopped fighting in 1953 but never signed a peace treaty. At the launch, Call of Duty's chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl told BBC Newsbeat: "We have to understand this is entertainment."

For players in Pakistan

Nothing changes in how you play: the edit arrives as part of the normal 12 November patch on PC and consoles, so keep automatic updates on. If you are weighing up big game purchases this season, our guide to GTA 6's price in Pakistan does the rupee arithmetic, and the currency converter works out any dollar price at today's rate.

The anniversary of the crush is 29 October, which is why the families' statement came this week.