Like clockwork, a new Call of Duty game has released and is stirring up senseless controversy to grab attention. As was recently discovered in the campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the opening cinematic that introduces the setting uses real-life news footage from South Korean news coverage of the Itaewon Tragedy. One of the deadliest disasters in South Korea since 2014, the event happened in late October 2022 as people took to one street in Seoul to celebrate Halloween for the first time since COVID restrictions had been lifted. It resulted in 160 deaths and 196 injuries and was primarily caused by a lack of government and police supervision.
As South Korean outlet SBS reports, Modern Warfare 4 includes roughly three seconds of footage from the tragedy to set the stage for the game’s story, which involves a North Korean invasion of South Korean. The footage is used to depict civilian casualties from battle, though none of the victims’ families were informed of this ahead of time. The 10.29 Itaewon Tragedy Bereaved Families Association and the Citizens’ Countermeasures Meeting released a statement asking for deletion of the footage, and wrote, “Using such an incident as material for an entertainment-oriented game itself is highly inappropriate and a senseless act.”
The Korea Game Users Association also chimed in, writing, “There should be a clear explanation of the circumstances and an apology regarding the fact that tragic disaster footage unrelated to the context of the game was utilized, causing distress to the bereaved families and others. We hope they respond responsibly by carrying out an update to replace the footage.” As SBS writes, survivors of the incident, victims’ families, and even first responders are still dealing with trauma related to this tragedy, the fourth anniversary of which is happening tomorrow, October 29th.
In a statement to SBS, Activsion said, “Some of the actual news report footage included in the game’s opening cinematic was utilized as an element to convey the fictional narrative within the work. We had no intention whatsoever to reference or trivialize any real-world tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy.” I’m not sure how much I believe that, however, considering this isn’t the first time a Call of Duty game has sparked controversy like this.
For the Modern Warfare reboot in 2020, Activision included a level on controversial battlefield “Highway of Death” that blamed the Russians for a devastating US Marines attack that destroyed 2,000 Iraqi vehicles. Going back even further to 2015, the marketing team behind Black Ops 3 posted a fake terrorist attack on Singapore to promote the game, which went over as well as a lead balloon. This kind of stunt is part and parcel with Call of Duty, and it’s really about time it stopped.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
