The short version
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 used real news footage from the October 29, 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul in a campaign cutscene about a fictional North Korean invasion.
- Families of the 159 people who died objected. Activision apologised on October 30, 2026 and says the footage will be completely removed in an update on November 12.
- Activision says the game is fiction and it never meant to reference or trivialise the disaster.
- The game launched on October 23 and costs ₹4,999 on Steam in India ($69.99 in the US). The update will reach all platforms, though Activision hasn't detailed it beyond the date.
What was in the game
Modern Warfare 4's campaign is set largely in South Korea. You play a young South Korean soldier as North Korea invades, with urban fighting through Seoul. To show the chaos of the invasion, one cinematic sequence mixes in news-style clips.
According to the Korea Herald, one of those clips is about three seconds long and shows paramedics performing CPR on a person who has collapsed. It comes from real coverage of the Itaewon disaster. Push Square describes the footage more broadly, including people being carried away on stretchers. The exact contents aren't fully clear from reports, but both agree it's real footage from that night.
Image: Activision
Who objected, and what they said
The complaint came from the Families of the Itaewon Disaster and a civic group called the Citizens' Countermeasures Meeting for the Itaewon Disaster, as reported by the Korea Herald on October 28. Their points, paraphrased:
- Using footage of the disaster in an entertainment product is inappropriate.
- Witnesses and rescue workers still live with trauma from that night.
- Online comments mocking the victims have added to the families' pain, and this made it worse.
The timing made it sharper. The game's backlash peaked just as South Korea marked the fourth anniversary of the disaster on October 29.
Activision's apology
In a statement to Korean broadcaster MBC, Activision offered its deepest condolences and a sincere apology to the bereaved families, the victims, and everyone hurt by the footage. A spokesperson told Push Square the company had not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real tragedy.
Activision also stressed that the game is a work of fiction. That's the same line it gave Korean media earlier in the week, before the apology. The fix is clear, though: the footage goes in the November 12 update.
Image: Zerocade
What happened at Itaewon
On the night of October 29, 2022, around 100,000 people gathered in Seoul's Itaewon district for the first Halloween celebrations since COVID rules eased. A narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel, about 3.2 metres wide at its tightest, became packed beyond control. 159 people died and nearly 200 were injured. Most were in their 20s, and 27 of the victims were foreign nationals.
It's one of the worst peacetime disasters in South Korea's recent history, and arguments over who was responsible still continue. That's why seeing real footage of it in a blockbuster game landed so badly.
A game that was already political in Korea
Modern Warfare 4 had stirred debate in South Korea before this. Its plot, a North Korean invasion, became a talking point in the National Assembly. Opposition lawmakers urged President Lee Jae Myung to play it. Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said on October 23 that games aren't subject to prior censorship. Politicians from both main parties defended the game on free-expression grounds.
The Itaewon clip is a different kind of problem. Nobody is asking to change the story. The families' complaint is only about real footage of real victims.
Image: Activision
What happens next
Infinity Ward's game otherwise launched strongly. Critics rated its campaign highly, as we covered in our Modern Warfare 4 review roundup. Activision hasn't said whether the scene will be re-edited or simply cut.
If you're playing on PC, PS5, Xbox or Switch 2, the change should arrive with the November 12 patch. Watch the patch notes that day to confirm the clip is gone.
