According to Kotaku and Polygon, Activision will remove real news footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush from Modern Warfare 4 in an update on November 12.
What the intro showed
The opening sequence used real-life news coverage to set up the game's fictional scenario, a North Korean invasion of South Korea. A narrator lays out the premise over footage of the crowd. Reports say the images are shown through a distorted filter, but anyone who had seen the original footage would likely recognize it. A Korean news report, translated into English by AI and so possibly containing errors, claimed the intro features three seconds of real broadcast footage of emergency workers performing CPR.
Activision's apology
Activision offered its deepest condolences and sincere apologies to the bereaved families, victims and everyone hurt or distressed by the incident. The company acknowledged that it used actual news footage to establish the game's fictional narrative. It insisted, however, that it never meant to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy. The statement to MBC also said there was no intention of downplaying the pain people have experienced since the tragedy.
Our Take
The date is the part that counts, and Activision gave one. November 12 is now the mark against which players and families can measure this promise, because the apology means little if the update leaves the clip in place. We would also watch for a direct apology, since the bereaved families' association said it had not received one and no English statement had appeared at the time of one report. A patch alone may not close this chapter in Korea.
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How the families responded
The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association welcomed Activision's decision to remove the footage. The group also said it had not received a direct apology from the publisher, so the response in Korea is not fully settled. Before the announcement, groups and bodies in Korea, including the association representing families who lost relatives in the crush, had called on Activision to remove the footage from the intro. Bereaved families called the use of the footage in an entertainment product inappropriate and insensitive.
The tragedy behind it
The footage comes from the October 29, 2022 crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district during Halloween celebrations. Sources give slightly different death tolls: one says it killed 159 people, another reports 160 deaths, and a third says between 150 and 160 people died. The crowd became trapped in a narrow alleyway, and thousands of people had crowded into the neighborhood's narrow streets and alleys that night.
Source: Polygon
Source: Kotaku
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
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