Activision to Cut Itaewon Crowd Crush Footage From Modern Warfare 4
Activision will remove real news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush from the opening of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which launched October 23, 2026.
1 source 28m ago
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
Why it matters
Activision first defended the footage as part of a fictional narrative, then apologized once bereaved families and a consumer group pushed back, so a real-world tragedy is being cut from a shipped product weeks after launch.
Key Facts
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 released on October 23, 2026.
- The game's opening used actual news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in South Korea.
- Bereaved families and civic groups demanded removal of the footage.
- Korea Game Consumers Association called for an explanation and apology.
- Activision said the footage will be removed in a November 12, 2026 update.
Bereaved families and civic groups demanded the removal, calling the use of a mass-casualty incident for game entertainment inappropriate. After an initial defense of the footage, Activision apologized and will cut it in the November 12 update.
The removals come in an update dated November 12, 2026. Korea Game Consumers Association issued its own statement saying Activision owed the bereaved families and those involved an explanation and apology, since the footage was unrelated to gameplay. The campaign mode casts the player as a young South Korean soldier, Private Park, in a scenario where North Korea launches a large-scale invasion.
Asked about the footage on October 29, Activision had told Eurogamer that real-world tragedies were not intended to be trivialized. The apology and removal decision followed.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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