Activision to Remove Itaewon Crush Footage From Call of Duty: MW4 in Nov. 12 Update

2.8 · 1d ago · WORLD · TECH

The Facts

  • Clips of real news coverage of the 2022 Itaewon crush appear in the game, about 10 seconds of heavily edited footage per NBC News, to depict the aftermath of a fictional North Korean attack/invasion; the game does not refer to Itaewon directly. ✓3 · BBC, The Guardian, NBC News
  • Bereaved families said they were appalled that footage of citizens performing CPR and victims lying in the street was used in an entertainment game, and demanded corrective action or removal. ✓3 · BBC, The Guardian, NBC News
  • Activision said it did not intend to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or other real-world tragedies. ✓3 · BBC, The Guardian, NBC News
  • The crush occurred in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during Halloween weekend 2022. ✓3 · BBC, The Guardian, NBC News
  • The game was released the week before the fourth anniversary of the crush on Oct. 29. ✓3 · BBC, The Guardian, NBC News
Dive deeper · 9 more factsShow less
  • Activision said the real footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush will be completely removed from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 through a game update scheduled for Nov. 12. ✓2 · BBC, NBC News
  • The Guardian reports 158 people were killed, with two more since recognised as victims after dying from trauma caused by the disaster; NBC News says nearly 160 deaths. ✓2 · The Guardian, NBC News
  • Activision apologized and offered condolences to bereaved families and victims, per BBC; the 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association welcomed the decision but told the BBC it had not received a direct apology. BBC only
  • Activision's statement, as reported by NBC News citing South Korean broadcaster MBC, called the game a fictional work and said it never intended to evoke the Itaewon disaster or trivialize suffering associated with such tragedies. NBC News only
  • More than 100,000 people were in the area at the time of the crush, per BBC and The Guardian; NBC News says tens of thousands of partygoers surged in the alley. ⚠ disputed
  • Nearly two dozen officials have been charged in the still-underway investigation and three former police officers have been jailed; President Lee Jae Myung vowed Thursday to 'uncover the truth'. NBC News only
  • The Korean Game Users Association called for an apology and for the footage to be replaced; Korean broadcasters compared the clip side by side with footage from the night. The Guardian only
  • The game follows a South Korean marine private fighting a North Korean invasion and topped South Korea's Steam sales chart within days of release. The Guardian only
  • South Korean lawmakers split over the game: opposition legislator Han Dong-hoon called it a warning, while Democratic Party member Kim Han Kyu defended it. NBC News only

Context

Activision will remove footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in a Nov. 12 update after objections from victims' families in South Korea. The footage appears in the game's depiction of a fictional North Korean invasion of the South.

The game was released days before the fourth anniversary of the disaster. Investigations into the authorities' failure to prevent it continue.

Conflicting Reports

  • Crowd size: BBC and The Guardian report more than 100,000 people in the area; NBC News describes tens of thousands of partygoers surging in the alley.
  • Death toll: The Guardian reports 158 killed plus two later recognised victims; NBC News says nearly 160 deaths.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

3 Policy Expert The concrete event is a publisher's commitment to remove footage from a video game after complaints, a corporate content decision with limited governmental significance and impact confined to a specific game and affected families.
3 Informed Citizen The concrete event is a publisher removing a single piece of footage from a video game in an update, a niche entertainment controversy with limited impact on ordinary people beyond the affected families and gamers.
3 Critical Reader The concrete event is a publisher confirming removal of a single video clip from a video game in its next update, a limited-scope corporate action with impact mainly on the bereaved families and game players, though it touches a sensitive tragedy.
3 Science & Tech Analyst The concrete event is a publisher's decision to remove real news footage from a video game in a patch, a niche controversy with limited broader impact beyond the affected families and game players.
3 News Editor The concrete event is a publisher's decision to remove footage from a video game after complaints, a niche entertainment and controversy story with limited broad impact beyond the affected families and gamers.
2 Business Analyst This is a niche corporate content decision about removing footage from a video game, with reactions and apologies rather than a market-moving action, so it has limited economic impact.
2 Global Affairs Analyst The concrete event is a publisher's decision to remove real news footage from a video game after complaints, a niche corporate and cultural controversy with limited geopolitical impact, though it touches a tragedy with 158 deaths.

Sources (4)

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