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Call of Duty Removes Seoul Crush Footage After Backlash
Confirmed
In Short: The makers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 have removed footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush after facing criticism from South Korean players and victims' families.
The makers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 are facing criticism in South Korea after footage from the deadly 2022 Itaewon crowd crush was reportedly used in the video game's opening sequence.
South Korean players identified the footage following the game's release, while local broadcasters subsequently compared the scenes with recordings from the Itaewon disaster.
The controversy comes as South Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the October 29, 2022, tragedy, in which 158 people died after a crowd crush in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during Halloween celebrations.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, a council representing bereaved families and several civic organizations condemned the use of the footage.
The Korean Game Users Association separately called on the publisher to apologize and replace the disputed material.
Among the videos are scenes of the 2022 Seoul crush incident, which happened during a Halloween celebration on Oct. 29 in Itaewon, when a crowd suddenly surged and began to trample or crush those within it.
The footage appears in the game's introductory cinematic, depicting civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea.
In a statement to South Korean broadcaster MBC, reported by The Korea Herald, Activision said the footage would be removed in an update scheduled to arrive on Nov. 12.
The bereaved families association and the Citizens Countermeasure Meeting are asking for the footage to be removed.
In a statement to South Korean media, Activision representatives said, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a work of fiction created to provide realistic immersion.”
“Using such an event as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless,” they added.
The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association expressed strong disapproval of the footage being included in an entertainment product, calling the choice senseless.
What this adds
The footage included scenes of people being taken away on stretchers and a person being resuscitated, used to demonstrate the reaction to the in-game invasion.
What's confirmed
- The controversy comes as South Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the October 29, 2022, tragedy, in which 158 people died after a crowd crush in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during Halloween celebrations.
- "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," the organisations said.
- “Using such an event as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless,” they added.
What's still developing
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- The incident prompted an apology from Activision, which has now announced plans to remove the footage.
- "The Itaewon tragedy was a tragic disaster that produced hundreds of casualties, and citizens who participated in the rescue efforts or witnessed the event at the time continue to suffer from trauma. If the game developer has even a minimum level of courtesy and empathy toward the victims, they should promptly take corrective measures."
- Their story - which it's worth noting has been translated into English by AI, and thus is acknowledged as potentially containing errors - claimed that the shooter's intro features three seconds of real-world broadcast footage showing a emergency workers performing CPR on a collapsed person during the Itaewon crowd crush 's aftermath.
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