South Korean civic groups, victims' relatives, and the Korean Game Users Association are demanding an apology and the immediate replacement of the opening cinematic footage. The disaster in Seoul's nightlife hub claimed 158 lives during Halloween festivities in 2022, with two subsequent trauma-related deaths officially recognized later. Activision defended its creative choice to the Yonhap news agency by clarifying that real broadcast materials were utilized solely to tell a fictional narrative without intending disrespect. Despite the public backlash aligning with the disaster's fourth anniversary, the game rapidly surged to the top spot on South Korea's Steam sales rankings.
Key points
South Korean advocacy groups and victims' families are demanding that Activision issue an…: South Korean advocacy groups and victims' families are demanding that Activision issue an apology and remove the real-world disaster footage.
Critics emphasize that broadcasting real disaster scenes causes renewed harm to traumatiz…: Critics emphasize that broadcasting real disaster scenes causes renewed harm to traumatized survivors while fueling hateful commentary online.
The video game reached the top of South Korea's Steam sales chart despite the surrounding…: The video game reached the top of South Korea's Steam sales chart despite the surrounding controversy on the tragedy's fourth anniversary.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Bereaved families in South Korea have demanded that the makers of Call of Duty remove harrowing footage of the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush from the latest instalment of the video game.
The clips, which are seconds-long, appear in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and are used to represent a scenario of civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion.
One shows a scene of chaos with a figure performing CPR on a victim lying in the street. Another shows rows of bodies laid out in the road, and a victim being carried away on a stretcher.
A total of 158 people were killed in a narrow alley in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district during the Halloween weekend in 2022. Two more have since been recognised as victims, having died from trauma caused by the disaster.
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