Activision to remove Seoul crowd crush footage from Modern Warfare 4 after families object

Activision will remove real news footage of the 2022 Seoul Halloween crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The removal is set for the game’s next update on November 12. ¹

The decision follows a demand from bereaved families, who asked the publisher to pull the clips from the opening montage. The footage, which appears briefly with a heavy filter and effects layered on top, shows rescue efforts from the crush in Itaewon that killed almost 160 people. ² The clips include a figure performing CPR, rows of bodies in the road and a victim carried away on a stretcher. ³

The montage uses real news coverage to illustrate a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. ¹ One South Korean broadcaster compared the clip side by side with footage from the night of the crush, and players in the country identified it after release. ³⁴

The families said they were “appalled” and called the use of the event “highly inappropriate and senseless” for a game made for entertainment. ² They said citizens who took part in the rescue or witnessed it are still living with trauma. ³ The Korea Game Users Association separately called for an apology and a replacement of the footage. ⁴

Activision’s first statement defended the clip. The publisher said it approached the subject with care and respect, that the opening cinematic uses some real-world news coverage to set up the game’s fictional story, and that it did not intend to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster. ² It did not address the removal request at that point.

On Friday, the company went further: it offered condolences, apologized to the families and victims hurt by the incident, and confirmed the footage would come out. ¹

The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association welcomed the decision. The group told the BBC it had not received a direct apology from Activision. ¹

The timing is hard. The fourth anniversary of the crush falls on Thursday, October 29, a day before the removal was confirmed. ³ The crowd of an estimated 100,000 people had packed Itaewon’s narrow, sloping streets for the first largely unrestricted Halloween in three years. ²

The game, released last week, was already under scrutiny in South Korea for its premise. ¹ Call of Duty’s chief marketing officer, Tyler Bahl, answered earlier criticism of the setting by saying “We have to understand this is entertainment.” ² It topped South Korea’s Steam sales chart within days of launch. ³

Outlook: the footage stays in the game until the November 12 update ships.

Our read: The sequence of events is short and plain. The families objected on Wednesday, Activision defended the clip on Thursday, and the company reversed course on Friday. The reversal came faster than the update that carries it. Until November 12, the clip remains in a game that is currently selling well in the country it depicts. Our recent look at the franchise’s finances, Call of Duty franchise clears $40 billion after Modern Warfare 4, is a reminder of how large the audience for that opening scene is. For the families, the question left open is the direct apology they say they have not received.

Footnotes

1. BBC News, “Seoul crush scene to be removed from Call of Duty after backlash”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. IGN, “Families Who Lost Loved Ones in Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush Call on Activision to Pull Real Footage From Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. The Guardian, “Outcry after Call of Duty maker uses real footage of deadly Seoul crowd crush in new video game”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Video Games Chronicle, “COD Modern Warfare 4 uses real news footage from South Korean tragedy, is urged by families to remove it”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩²