The opening scene of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 repurposes real video of citizens performing CPR on victims during the Itaewon crowd crush to depict the aftermath of an attack. Relatives of the nearly 160 victims condemned the publisher's decision as senseless, demanding the material be deleted from the release. Publisher Activision defended its narrative use of real-world news recordings, asserting it had no intention to trivialize actual events. However, the company has not confirmed whether it will alter the game to remove the controversial opening scene.
Key points
Families of the Itaewon disaster victims strongly condemned Activision for repurposing fa…: Families of the Itaewon disaster victims strongly condemned Activision for repurposing fatal tragedy footage for entertainment.
Activision maintained it handled the news footage with care but refused to say if it woul…: Activision maintained it handled the news footage with care but refused to say if it would edit the game.
The game's storyline had already attracted scrutiny due to the unresolved conflict betwee…: The game's storyline had already attracted scrutiny due to the unresolved conflict between North and South Korea.
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Victims 'appalled' as deadly crush footage included in Call of Duty
- Published
Families who lost loved ones in a deadly crush in South Korea say they're "appalled" to see footage of it in the latest Call of Duty game.
In an opening scene of Modern Warfare 4, video of rescue efforts from the 2022 disaster in Itaewon, Seoul, is used to show the aftermath of an imagined attack from North Korea.
Almost 160 people died and the group representing their families are calling on the game's makers Activision to delete the footage, saying the decision to include it was "senseless".
Activision confirmed it used recordings from that night but had "not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form".
"In developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, we approached the subject matter with care and respect," a spokesperson said.
"The game's opening cinematic utilises some real world news coverage to establish the game's fictional narrative."
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