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Victims' families have demanded changes to the cutscene, it's claimed
The intro cinematic of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, this year's Activision mil-shooter, has reportedly caused controversy in South Korea due to the use of some real world news footage from a 2022 crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district which killed around 150 people. Activision have now issued a response to the situation, in which they state the intro is "not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy".
Korean site SBS News have reported on the backlash Modern Warfare 4's opening cinematic has caused in the country. Their story - which it's worth noting has been translated into English by AI, and thus is acknowledged as potentially containing errors - claimed that the shooter's intro features three seconds of real-world broadcast footage showing a emergency workers performing CPR on a collapsed person during the Itaewon crowd crush's aftermath.
The crush saw a crowd of people become trapped in a narrow alleyway during Halloween weekend celebrations in the South Korean capital, with between 150 and 160 people dying as a result of becoming so tightly packed together that some couldn't breathe. According to the report, groups and bodies in Korea including an association representing families who suffered bereavements in the crush have called for Activision to remove the footage from Modern Warfare 4's intro.
Approached for comment by RPS, Activision issued the following statement on the situation:
In developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, we approached the subject matter with care and respect. The game’s opening cinematic utilises some real world news coverage to establish the game’s fictional narrative. It is not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form.Modern Warfare 4's campaign is built around a North Korean invasion of South Korea.
English (US) ·