Activision will remove images of a real-life tragedy from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 intro
, by Thibaut
While the campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is considered one of the best in recent years, a major controversy erupted shortly after its release. It concerns the game’s opening sequence, which contains shocking images.
Since the game depicts a conflict between North Korea and South Korea, Infinity Ward dug into the archives to find footage from real news reports to enhance the realism. It was in this context that internet users recognized a clip of a paramedic performing CPR on a person lying on the ground (0:18 in the video). The footage was captured during the horrific Halloween 2022 stampede in Itaewon (Seoul). That tragedy left 159 people dead and 196 injured.
Naturally, this did not sit well at all with the association of families of the accident victims, who are demanding that Activision remove the image. According to the South Korean media outlet Inven, the publisher has apologized and pledged to remove the images when an update is rolled out on November 12, 2026.
Here is the statement issued by Activision.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a work of fiction designed to provide a realistic immersive experience. We want to make it clear that by using archival footage from news broadcasts in the game, we never intended to allude to or trivialize any tragic event, including the Itaewon stampede.
The video footage in question will be completely removed in a game update scheduled for November 12. We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the victims deeply affected by this incident, as well as to everyone we may have caused concern."
Source: invenglobal.com