Activision to remove Itaewon crowd crush footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and apologises to victims’ families

Activision has apologised to families of those killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush and says it will remove real footage of the disaster from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The footage appeared in the game’s opening cinematic, prompting calls for its removal from victims’ families and a citizens’ group.

A game update scheduled for 12 November is expected to remove the clips completely. Around 160 people died in the Itaewon disaster. Activision said it had not intended to invoke or trivialise the tragedy; South Korea’s interior and safety minister called the footage’s inclusion “secondary harm” and said appropriate sanctions should be considered.