Modern Warfare 4 Itaewon footage: Activision responds
The Modern Warfare 4 Itaewon controversy explained: real crowd crush footage is reported in the intro. Here is what families want and what Activision said.
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Modern Warfare 4 is facing backlash in South Korea over Itaewon. The game's opening cinematic reportedly uses real news footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. Bereaved families want it removed, and Activision says no reference to the disaster was intended.
The row comes on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. The crush happened in Seoul on October 29, 2022, during Halloween weekend. Eurogamer reports that 160 people died and 196 were injured.
What is in the Modern Warfare 4 opening cinematic?
Modern Warfare 4's campaign is built around a North Korean invasion of South Korea. Its opening moments use a news report to show fictional civilian casualties. According to Eurogamer, that sequence includes archive news clips of a person carried on a stretcher, someone performing CPR on a victim and several bodies on a road.
Korean broadcaster SBS reported that around three seconds of this footage is real broadcast material from the aftermath of the Itaewon crush. Rock Paper Shotgun notes that SBS's English version of the story was translated by AI and may contain errors.
What are families and groups asking for?
An association representing bereaved families and a citizens' group issued a joint statement calling for the footage to be removed. They said using such an incident as material for an entertainment product is highly inappropriate.
The groups added that many people who took part in the rescue or witnessed the event still live with trauma. If the developer has even a basic level of courtesy and empathy toward the victims, they said, it should take corrective action quickly.
The Korean Game Consumers Association's position
The Korean Game Consumers Association also issued a statement. It asked for a clear explanation and an apology, and called for the footage to be replaced in an update. It also stressed that the controversy should not turn into a demand to censor the game.
What did Activision say?
Activision sent the same statement to Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. It said the team approached the subject matter with care and respect while developing Modern Warfare 4. The opening cinematic uses some real-world news coverage to establish the game's fictional narrative. Activision said it is not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy.
The statement does not say whether the footage will be changed, and none of the reports we read mention an update plan.
The controversy at a glance
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Game | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) |
| Scene | News report in the opening cinematic |
| Claim | About 3 seconds of real Itaewon footage (SBS) |
| Demand | Remove or replace the footage in an update |
| Activision's response | No intent to reference or trivialise the disaster |
| Planned change | Not announced |
Eurogamer notes that Itaewon is South Korea's most severe mass casualty event since the 1995 Sampoong Department Store collapse.
The game has faced other criticism since launch, which we covered in our SBMM backlash story. For the basics, see our Modern Warfare 4 launch guide and our Season 1 preview.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Modern Warfare 4 Itaewon controversy?
The game's opening cinematic reportedly includes real news footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul. Bereaved families have asked for it to be removed.
What did Activision say?
Activision said the intro uses some real-world news coverage to set up the fictional story, and is not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real tragedy.
Will the footage be removed?
Activision's statement does not say. The Korean Game Consumers Association has called for the footage to be replaced in an update.
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