The latest installment of the popular video game franchise Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is facing criticism for its inclusion of real footage from the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush. Bereaved families and civic groups are calling for the removal of the approximately three-second clips, which appear in the game's opening cinematic.
The footage depicts scenes of civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion scenario. One clip shows paramedics performing CPR, another displays bodies on the roadside, and a third shows a victim being taken away on a stretcher. In October 2022, a stampede in Seoul's Itaewon district during Halloween celebrations resulted in the deaths of at least 158 people and injured hundreds more.
"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," stated the families' council and a coalition of civic groups in a joint statement. They further argued that survivors and those who aided victims continue to experience trauma, exacerbated by online comments about the deceased.
Activision, the game's developer, told the news agency Yonhap that "some actual news footage included in the game's opening cinematic was utilised as an element to convey the fictional story within the work." The company added, "We had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy."
Modern Warfare 4, released last week, follows a South Korean marine private engaged in a fictional conflict against a North Korean invasion. The Call of Duty series has generated over $40 billion in lifetime revenue since its inception.
The Itaewon crowd crush occurred when an estimated 100,000 people gathered in a narrow street for the city's first large-scale Halloween festival since the COVID-19 pandemic. The tragedy unfolded shortly after 10 p.m. local time. Emergency responders reported that many victims were women in their 20s, with most being teenagers or in their early twenties. A makeshift morgue was established in an adjacent building due to the high number of fatalities. Officials believe the crush occurred as a large crowd pushed forward in an alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a popular nightlife spot, following rumors of a celebrity sighting.
Witness accounts described chaotic scenes, with people layered upon one another. Videos circulating on social media at the time showed panic and desperate attempts to escape the crush. More than 1,700 emergency workers were deployed to the scene. The stampede is believed to have caused many deaths due to trampling.
