Video clips showing the aftermath of a deadly crush in Seoul will be removed from the latest Call of Duty game after an angry reaction from victims’ families.
Real life news coverage of the 2022 disaster which killed almost 160 people was included in an opening scene of Modern Warfare 4 to illustrate a fictional invasion from North Korea.
Bereaved families said they were “appalled” to see the footage – which included people being removed on stretchers, body bags on the street and resuscitation efforts – repurposed for the game.
Activision, which makes Call of Duty, has since confirmed it would be removed in the game’s next update.
The crush happened in the narrow alleys of Seoul’s Itaewon district when more than 100,000 people went to the area to celebrate Halloween four years ago.
The streets became so tightly packed that people could not move and some were unable to breathe.
In a statement on Thursday, the families of those who died said the disaster “was a tragedy that caused hundreds of casualties, and citizens who took part in the rescue or witnessed it have suffered from trauma until now”.
“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.”
