Families of Itaewon Crush Victims Demand Removal of Real Footage From Call of Duty Game

Families who lost loved ones in the 2022 Seoul crowd crush are calling on the makers of Call of Duty to take real footage of the disaster out of the franchise's newest game. The demand was made on Wednesday, one day before South Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

The footage appears for only a few seconds in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. It is used to portray civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion. In one clip, a figure performs CPR on a victim lying in the street. Another shows rows of bodies laid out on the road, along with a victim being carried away on a stretcher.

The real event took place in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district over Halloween weekend in 2022. A total of 158 people died. Two more people have since been recognised as victims after dying from trauma linked to the disaster.

In a joint statement, the bereaved families' council and a coalition of civic groups said they were appalled. "We are appalled that the chaotic and desperate scenes, in which countless citizens performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the cold street, were used exactly as they were to create a scene in a game," they said. They asked for the footage to be removed.

The groups added that people who took part in the rescue or witnessed the crush are still living with trauma. They also said hateful comments about the victims have been spreading online in connection with the game's premise.

Activision, the game's publisher, responded through the Yonhap news agency. It said that "some actual news footage included in the game's opening cinematic was utilised as an element to convey the fictional story within the work." The company went on to say, "We had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy."

Players in South Korea spotted the clip after the game came out, and Korean broadcasters have since shown it next to footage filmed on the night of the crush. The Korean Game Users Association has called for an apology and for the footage to be replaced.

The game follows a South Korean marine private who fights a North Korean invasion across recognisable Korean streets. It was already a political talking point before launch. Conservative politicians urged President Lee Jae Myung, who is pursuing a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea, to play it so he could understand what they described as the threat from Pyongyang. Within days of its release, the title topped South Korea's sales chart on Steam, the leading PC gaming platform.