Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, a bestselling first-person shooter video game, is receiving backlash for allegedly using footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in a cinematic sequence, prompting bereaved families and a civic coalition to demand its removal.
The controversial clip, which lasts about three seconds, shows paramedics performing CPR on a person who has collapsed.
The Families of the Itaewon Disaster and the Citizens' Countermeasures Meeting for the Itaewon Disaster said using footage of the tragedy in an entertainment game was inappropriate. They said people who witnessed the disaster or took part in rescue efforts continue to suffer from trauma, and that hateful online comments belittling the victims have added to their pain.
The game's publisher, Activision, told local media it had no intention to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster in any way. It argued the sequence was meant to convey the game's fictional story, which involves a North Korean invasion of South Korea and fighting in Seoul.
The Itaewon crowd crush killed more than 150 people on Oct. 29, 2022.
tammy@heraldcorp.com
