ActivisionFamilies who lost loved ones in a crush caused by overcrowding in Seoul’s narrow streets four years ago say they’re appalled to see footage of it on the latest Call of Duty game.
In an opening scene of Modern Warfare 4, video of rescue efforts from the 2022 disaster in Itaewon, South Korea, is used to show the aftermath of an imagined attack from North Korea.
Almost 160 people died and their families are calling on the game’s makers Activision to delete the footage, saying including it was “senseless”.
Activision confirmed it used recordings from that night but had “not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form”.
“The game’s opening cinematic utilises some real world news coverage to establish the game’s fictional narrative.”
‘Highly inappropriate’
Thursday marks the fourth anniversary of the crush, which happened when more than 100,000 people went out in Seoul’s nightlife district to celebrate Halloween.
The narrow streets became so tightly packed that people could not move and some were unable to breathe.
“We cannot help but be appalled that the chaotic and desperate scene, in which many citizens at the site performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the freezing street, was used as it was to create a scene in a game,” the bereaved families said.
“Using such an event as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless,” their statement continued.
“If the game developer has even a minimum of courtesy and empathy towards the victims, it should take corrective action without delay.”
Activision did not comment on the request to edit the scene to remove the video from that night.
Modern Warfare 4, which was released last week, had already faced criticism for basing the game on North Korea invading South Korea, as the two countries have been technically at war for decades.
Fighting stopped in the Korean War in 1953, but the two countries never signed a peace treaty and conflict is a very real worry in that part of the world.
At the launch of the game, Call of Duty’s chief marketing officer, Tyler Bahl, told Newsbeat: “We have to understand this is entertainment”.
