The Call of Duty game under fire is facing calls from families in South Korea to remove archival footage from its campaign. The clips show people receiving CPR and bodies covered by tarps after the Itaewon crowd crush.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 uses the brief footage in a montage early in a fictional story about a North Korean invasion of South Korea. The game does not identify the images as coming from the 2022 disaster.

Why the Duty Game Is Under Fire

The footage came from the night of Oct. 29, 2022, when a crowd surge and stampede in an alleyway in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood killed people and injured nearly 200 others, CBC News reported. The source gives conflicting death totals in separate passages, so this article does not state a number.

Families of those killed are asking the game’s makers to remove the images. The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association joined other Korean citizens’ associations in a statement, reported by Korean outlet SBS News.

“Using such an incident as material for a game intended for entertainment purposes is itself highly inappropriate and a senseless act,” the association said, according to SBS News.

The statement also said that people involved in rescue efforts or who witnessed the event continue to suffer trauma. It urged the developer to take corrective measures, citing what it called a minimum level of courtesy and empathy toward victims.

Activision said the footage was used solely to tell a fictional story and that it had no intention of referencing or trivializing the Itaewon disaster or another real-life tragedy, according to The Korea Times. Its statement did not say whether the footage would be changed or removed in a future update.

CBC News asked a representative for the game for additional comment and had not received a response when its report was published. The report also said the outcry had not had an apparent effect on the game’s critical and financial success.

The game had an average score of 85 to 87 on Metacritic, depending on platform or console. Xbox head Asha Sharma called it “one of the most celebrated Call of Duty games in its 24-year history” on X and said it helped the franchise reach $40 billion US in lifetime revenue. Those are separate measures cited by the report; individual game sales were not known.

Families Seek a Change to the Footage

South Koreans are marking the fourth anniversary of the crowd crush on Thursday, the report said. A national commission continues to investigate the incident. Its stated mission is to uncover the truth, recommend accountability measures and improve safety to prevent similar disasters.

The controversy concerns footage used to depict casualties in a fictional invasion, while families say the real images should be removed from entertainment. The game’s publisher has explained its intent but has not announced a change to the footage.

Readers following other coverage of games can also see reporting on game studios’ AI use and a new browser-game platform. A separate report covers South Korean esports medals.

The source describes no confirmed game update: Activision has not said whether it will remove or alter the clips. The families’ request and the ongoing investigation remain distinct; neither establishes what the publisher will do. The next decision on the footage rests with the game’s publisher, while the commission continues its stated work.