Activision will remove a controversial segment from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in an update scheduled for November 12. The decision follows criticism over the game’s depiction of events resembling the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul.
The tragedy occurred in October 2022, when approximately 100,000 people gathered in a narrow alleyway in Itaewon. The crowd crush caused 160 casualties as people were suffocated. Bereaved families and community organizers have continued to commemorate those who died.
Modern Warfare 4 was released for consoles and PC on October 23. Its campaign opens with a scene set during a fictional conflict between North and South Korea, showing a chaotic incident in which someone performs CPR on an injured person while bodies are placed on the street or carried away on stretchers.
The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and the Citizens’ Countermeasures Meeting criticized the inclusion of the scene and called on Activision to remove it. The organizations said that using the tragedy in entertainment was inappropriate and that people who witnessed the event or took part in rescue efforts continue to experience trauma.
Activision said the scene was created with care and respect and used real-world news coverage to establish the game’s fictional narrative. However, the publisher said it was never intended to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy, and confirmed that the depiction will be removed in the November 12 update.
Sources: GameSpot.