Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to Remove Seoul Crowd Crush Footage After Huge Backlash, Activision Apologizes

Activision has reportedly confirmed that it will be pulling real footage of Seoul’s deadly Itaewon crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 after the controversial scene sparked widespread criticism. The publisher has apologized to victims’ families and confirmed that a game update scheduled for November 12 will remove the footage entirely.

Modern Warfare 4’s Seoul scene sparks backlash

The controversy centers on the game’s opening cinematic, which uses real-world news footage to establish the scale of a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea. One clip reportedly shows a paramedic performing CPR on a collapsed person following the 2022 Itaewon disaster.

The tragedy took place on October 29, 2022, when a crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood killed 159 people. According to BBC, families of the victims and civic groups criticized Activision for including the footage in an entertainment product. They demanded its removal, arguing that using images connected to the tragedy was deeply insensitive.

Activision initially defended its use of archival news coverage, explaining that the footage helped establish the game’s fictional narrative. However, the publisher has now acknowledged the pain caused by the scene and committed to removing it.

Activision confirms November 12 removal update

The removal update is scheduled for November 12. It remains unclear whether the patch will make any additional changes to the opening cinematic beyond removing the disputed footage. In its latest statement to IGN, Activision clarified that it never intended to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy.

In developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, we approached the subject matter with care and respect. The game’s opening cinematic utilizes some real world news coverage to establish the game’s fictional narrative. It is not intended to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form.

In case you are unaware, Modern Warfare 4 launched on October 23, 2026, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. The game’s Metacritic rating also exposed issues with Xbox’s review process, prompting the company’s CTO to assure users that it would be simplified. Speaking of games, let’s not forget that Blizzard has also suggested that World of Warcraft could finally come to Xbox.