Just a week after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the shooter has found itself in the midst of a controversy regarding its depiction of the Seoul crush. Activision and developer Infinity Ward have caught criticism regarding the inclusion of footage taken from the news coverage of the 2022 real-life disaster that resulted in almost 160 deaths.
According to the BBC, bereaved families have said that they were “appalled” to see the footage, which shows up in the opening moments of Modern Warfare 4’s single-player campaign. The scene itself is meant to kick off the in-universe invasion by North Korea. Activision has apologized and has confirmed that the footage in question will be removed from the game through an update slated for release on November 12th.
In real life, the crush from which the footage was taken took place in the Itaewon district during Halloween. With more than 100,000 people in the area, many found themselves packed together tightly enough that many were unable to breathe. Family members of those affected by the disaster called it “a tragedy that caused hundreds of casualties, and citizens who took part in the rescue or witnessed it have suffered from trauma until now”.
Further in their statements, the families said, “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 to create a scene in a game.
“Using such an event as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless.”
In its own statement, Activision has said that the depiction of the Seoul crush was intended “to establish the game’s fictional narrative” and that the company had “not intended to reference or trivialize the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form.” In a statement to the BBC, the 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association praised Activision’s decision to remove the footage.
This is not the first time that a game in the Modern Warfare sub-franchise has found itself in the midst of this kind of controversy. 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the focus of much discussion and criticism due to a noteworthy level dubbed No Russian, which puts players in the shoes of a soldier who is also undercover in a terrorist organization and directly participates in a mass shootout in a crowded airport.
Similarly, the 2019 reboot of Modern Warfare was criticized for its depiction of the “Highway of Death”, which in the game is set in the fictional country of Urzikstan, but was based on the real-world Highway 80 – the road between Kuwait and Basra that was heavily bombed by the US military and its allies during the 1991 Gulf War.
In the meantime, take a look at our review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10 thanks to its plot and dialogue, characterization, and pacing.
