Call of Duty removes Itaewon crowd crush footage after backlash

Opening cinematic used real news footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush

Developer Activision issues formal apology, announces deletion of footage

Government had raised possibility of sanctions before resolution

A scene from the official trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. [Captured from the official Call of Duty YouTube channel]

Activision has announced it will remove footage from the opening sequence of Call of Duty that sparked controversy over its apparent use of real news footage from the Itaewon crowd crush.

The game, which centers on a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea, drew immediate criticism after its launch over allegations that its opening cinematic incorporated actual broadcast footage from the October 2022 Itaewon crowd crush.

After the South Korean government raised the possibility of sanctions, Activision ultimately issued a formal apology and announced it would delete the disputed footage.

Activision said in an official statement Friday that "the footage in question will be completely removed through a game update to be distributed on Nov. 12." The company also offered a formal apology to the bereaved families and victims of the Itaewon crowd crush, saying it "bows its head in deep condolence and apology."

Earlier, the company had said it had "no intention of evoking any tragic event, including the Itaewon crowd crush, or of minimizing the pain it caused," while stopping short of committing to removing the disputed footage. As criticism mounted, Activision decided to delete the footage just one week after the game's launch.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a first-person war shooter Activision released Saturday. The Call of Duty franchise is a globally popular series that has surpassed $40 billion in cumulative sales worldwide, with more than 500 million copies sold as of 2024. According to gaming statistics site SteamDB, the latest installment shot straight to the top of the weekly most-played games chart.

The game drew controversy in South Korea from the moment of its release. The initial flashpoint was its use of a Korean War setting and a storyline depicting a North Korean invasion of the South, with critics arguing it was inappropriate to use an ongoing conflict as entertainment material.

The backlash intensified when it emerged that the game's opening cinematic appeared to include actual broadcast footage from the Itaewon crowd crush. The disputed scenes showed paramedics carrying stretchers and performing CPR — imagery strongly reminiscent of the disaster.

A scene from the controversial opening sequence of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, believed to include archival footage from the Itaewon crowd crush. [Yonhap]

The controversy prompted the government to raise the possibility of sanctions. Ministry of Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung, speaking at a press briefing at Government Complex Sejong on Thursday, characterized the use of the footage as "secondary harm" to victims and said "there should be appropriate sanctions for this."

Yun added that "it seems like a matter for the relevant authorities to decide — whether to impose penalties or to block access to the game."

Activision's announcement came just one day after those remarks, and the government appears to consider the matter resolved for now. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism oversees domestic game industry policy and game content regulations. The ministry said Friday that following Activision's deletion and apology, "the relevant department regards this as a concluded matter."

The Game Rating and Administration Committee, which operates under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said it "sympathizes with the gravity of the issue and the concerns raised, and has been closely monitoring the situation," but added that it "has not discussed any specific sanctions, such as blocking access to the game."

young2@heraldcorp.com