Activision is officially removing controversial video footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Modern Warfare 4 previously included real-world clips taken from the tragic 2022 Itaewon Disaster. This horrific real-life event resulted in 160 deaths. Consequently, the publisher faced immediate backlash from the gaming community. Activision will patch out the footage in a scheduled update on November 12.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for the company issued a public apology. They clarified that Activision never intended to reference or trivialize the tragedy. Instead, developers initially included the footage to deliver a realistic and immersive experience. Additionally, the publisher expressed deep sympathy for the affected families.
Activision will update the Modern Warfare 4 Campaign intro sequence to remove real-life footage from a tragedy in South Korea from 2022 following backlash from victim’s families
Activision says it was “not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form.”
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) October 30, 2026
A Massive, Korean-Centric Campaign
The newest shooter franchise entry brings significant narrative ambitions. The main campaign focuses heavily on a reignited military conflict between South Korea and North Korea. In fact, design director Alex Norris called this the largest campaign in Modern Warfare history.
Moreover, Activision consulted various authorities to ensure an accurate representation of the Korean peninsula conflict. They worked directly with North Korean defectors and Korean employees at Infinity Ward. The story prominently features longtime protagonist John Price. Additionally, the studio cast Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen as the game’s main antagonist.
Activision also overhauled the franchise’s movement mechanics. Players now possess the ability to hang and shimmy from ledges and pipes.
Performance Issues & Launch Success
Despite the massive campaign, the launch faced several gameplay criticisms. Many fans complained about a significantly higher time to kill. They feel it takes far too long to score eliminations compared to past games. Furthermore, players cited glaring performance issues on the Nintendo Switch 2. Specifically, the Nintendo console experiences much greater input lag than the PS5 version.
However, the game still enjoyed a remarkably strong launch window. Modern Warfare 4 secured a “Very Positive” review score on Steam. It also peaked at 227,433 concurrent players on the platform. This impressive figure notably outperformed 2025’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Even so, the player count lagged behind Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which previously saw 300,000 players on release.
