Activision to Remove Itaewon Crush Footage From Modern Warfare 4

Activision says it will remove real footage of the 2022 Itaewon Halloween crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in an update scheduled for November 12, after bereaved families objected to its use in the game’s opening sequence. The footage came from news coverage of the disaster in Seoul’s Itaewon district, where nearly 160 people died. The game used the images to introduce a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. Reports described footage of emergency responders performing CPR and victims being carried away. The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association said using scenes of suffering as material for entertainment was inappropriate and senseless. The association has welcomed the announced removal, but said it had not received a direct apology from Activision. Activision said the footage was included to establish the game’s fictional narrative and that it did not intend to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy. The company has apologized publicly, according to reports. The status of the removal plan changed in the reporting. An earlier account said Activision had made no commitment to remove the footage; later...