Call of Duty game under fire for using real Itaewon crowd crush footage

The latest installment in the global Call of Duty game franchise drew condemnation from bereaved families and civic groups in South Korea after players discovered that it contained real footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush.

The game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, depicts a full-scale North Korean invasion of South Korea, and initially drew attention in South Korea for its realistic portrayal of the country.

However, the reception turned hostile after viewers identified what appeared to be real footage of bystanders performing CPR during the Itaewon tragedy during a sequence showing civilian casualties from the fictional war.

The crowd crush killed more than 150 people on Oct. 29, 2022, and Thursday marks its fourth anniversary.

The council representing bereaved families and a coalition of civic groups supporting them issued a joint statement Wednesday, condemning the use of the footage and demanding its removal.

“We cannot help but be appalled that the chaotic and desperate scenes of citizens performing CPR to save one another, with victims lying on the cold streets, were used unchanged to create a scene in a game,” the groups said.

The game’s publisher Activision told Yonhap News Agency that some actual news footage was included in the opening cinematic sequence to convey the game’s fictional story. The company said it had no intention of referencing or trivializing the Itaewon disaster or any other real-life tragedy.

The statement did not say whether the company would remove the footage.