Activision cuts Seoul crowd footage from game

Activision announced Friday that it is removing footage from its new video game, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.' The change follows a public outcry in South Korea over the use of real-life video from a deadly 2022 crowd crush in Seoul.

The game launched globally last week, just days before the Oct. 29 anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy. In that disaster, tens of thousands of people surged into a narrow alley in the Itaewon district, resulting in nearly 160 deaths.

The game features a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. It includes approximately 10 seconds of heavily edited footage showing the aftermath of the real disaster to illustrate a possible outcome of a Pyongyang attack. The game does not explicitly name the Itaewon incident.

Groups representing victims' families demanded the removal of the clips. They criticized the game for reproducing scenes of people performing CPR on victims lying in the streets. The Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and the Itaewon Disaster Citizens' Countermeasures Committee issued a joint statement Friday urging the developer to act promptly.

Activision apologized in a statement released Friday. The company said the footage would be completely removed in a game update scheduled for Nov. 12. The statement, shared by South Korean public broadcaster MBC, noted that the game is a fictional work intended to be immersive. It said the company did not intend to evoke the Itaewon disaster or trivialize the suffering associated with it.

Lee Jin Woo, whose 28-year-old sister died in the crowd crush, told NBC News that he did not notice the footage during his initial playthrough. He said he realized the similarity after hearing about the controversy. Lee, who works for a South Korean gaming company, described feeling betrayed because he was a fan of the game series.

The controversy occurs while the investigation into the 2022 disaster continues. Nearly two dozen officials have been charged, and three former police officers are jailed. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Thursday that his government would uncover the truth. He stated that the state was absent on the night the tragedy occurred.

As of Friday, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4' was the top-selling game in South Korea and the United States on the Steam platform. Activision, which is owned by Microsoft, aimed to return to the franchise's roots as a grounded military shooter. Chief Marketing Officer Tyler Bahl said earlier this month that the team adjusted the game based on player feedback to make it more authentic.