Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has drawn strong criticism in South Korea after players discovered that its opening sequence included real footage recorded in the aftermath of the 2022 Itaewon Halloween disaster in Seoul.
Around 100,000 people gathered in Itaewon during Halloween that year. More than 150 people died after overcrowding reportedly caused groups of young people to push one another, triggering a chain reaction in which people fell on top of each other. The incident had a lasting impact in South Korea, leading to the creation of new laws and codes of conduct.
The opening of Modern Warfare 4 features real news archive material, including footage showing a doctor attempting to resuscitate a victim. Players quickly identified the scene as genuine footage filmed after the tragedy, rather than material created specifically for the game.
South Korean player representatives and representatives of the victims contacted Activision to request the removal of the images. The company agreed to take the footage out of the game and apologized for including it.
Activision said it seeks to make the Call of Duty series feel more realistic in several ways, including through the use of real images, but acknowledged that it did not intend to trivialize such a tragic event.
Sources: Eurogamer Portugal.