Itaewon crush families demand Call of Duty remove real news footage from game

The footage in the game

Relatives of people killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul want the publisher of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to take real news footage of the disaster out of the game. The clips last only a few seconds and play in the opening sequence, where they are presented as civilian casualties from a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. One clip shows a person giving CPR to someone lying in the road, another shows bodies lined up on the asphalt, and a third shows a victim being carried away on a stretcher. VRT NWS compared the images with the original material and confirmed they are real news videos that remain available on sites such as Getty Images. Gamers in South Korea recognised the clips, and Korean broadcasters have compared them with footage from that night.

Families demand removal

On 28 October, the bereaved families' council and a coalition of civic groups issued a joint statement demanding that the footage be taken down. The groups wrote that they were appalled that scenes of rescue efforts and chaos had been reused as they were. They said many people who took part in the rescue or witnessed the crush still live with trauma. The statement also says hateful comments about the victims have begun spreading online in connection with the game's premise. A spokesperson for a committee representing the families told AFP the use showed a total absence of sensitivity to the pain of bereaved families, victims and citizens. Bereaved families who came from abroad are in South Korea for the commemoration, and the committee plans to raise the matter formally once it has gathered their signatures.

Publisher response

Activision, which publishes the game, told the Yonhap news agency that some real news footage in the opening cinematic was used to convey the fictional story. The company added:

“We had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy.”

As of the latest reports, Activision had not replied to the request to remove the footage. The Korean Game Users Association has called for an apology from the company and for the clips to be replaced. The game follows a South Korean marine private who fights a North Korean invasion through recognisable streets in Korea.

The 2022 crush and the anniversary

The crush took place in the night of 29 to 30 October 2022 in a narrow alley in Itaewon, the nightlife district of Seoul. More than 100,000 people had travelled to the area for the Halloween celebrations, and the mood turned as the night went on. The death toll stands at 158, and authorities later linked two further deaths to the disaster. Many revellers had looked forward to returning to Itaewon without the pandemic restrictions of the two years before. 29 October 2026 marks the fourth anniversary of the crush.