Video game depicts N Korea's invasion of South

'Call of Duty', however, is still all the rage in latter

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA:

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

The latest instalment of the "Call of Duty" video game franchise, featuring a full-scale North Korean invasion of South Korea, has topped sales charts in the would-be target, even as real-life border tensions are ratcheting higher.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4", the latest edition of the globally popular franchise is set against a backdrop of tensions between the United States and Russia.

Its Friday release comes on the heels of an explosion inside the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that injured three South Korean soldiers, further straining ties on the peninsula.

The game follows several parallel storylines: a squad of young American and South Korean soldiers fighting for survival, a former serviceman driven by revenge, and a power struggle surrounding a new North Korean leader -- a character players can also take on.

The new edition has generated considerable interest in South Korea, where able-bodied men are required to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military, depending on the branch.

The title has topped both the global and South Korean sales charts on Steam, one of the world's largest digital distribution platforms for PC games.

The campaign begins with a surprise invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces, who deploy paratroopers and infiltrate through an underground tunnel to catch South Korean and US troops off guard.

In reality, the US stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea to help deter the nuclear-armed North. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Reactions among South Korean gamers have been largely positive, with some posting hashtags featuring a Korean slogan meaning "exterminate communism" on social media and others saying they were considering upgrading their computers or buying new consoles to play the title.

"I cried so much playing the game to a point I almost got dehydrated. It reminds me so much of my grandfather, who fought in the Korean War," a Threads user with the handle b_yeol_t said.

Another user, posting under the handle ireozima_zebal, described the experience as "horrifying" because of its implications for a potential conflict on the Korean peninsula.

"This is what would unfold if the North launched an invasion, with the border province of Gangwon overwhelmed within an hour and our defence line pushed back right on the edge of Seoul," the user said.

But the game has also drawn criticism for turning the fraught history between North and South Korea into entertainment.

The title raises the "question of whether it is appropriate... to present the tragedy of the Korean War and the current antagonism between South and North as something to be consumed for entertainment", Kim Sung-jae, chairman of the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, wrote in the Hankyoreh newspaper last month.

On Saturday, North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un had urged his military to become the strongest in the world at a two-day meeting of company commanders in Pyongyang last week.

As of October 2023, Call of Duty has sold over 500 million copies and has 100 million monthly active players across all platforms. The franchise generated $30 billion in revenue by 2022. The series is verified by the Guinness World Records as the best-selling first-person shooter game series. It is the most successful video game franchise created in the United States and the fourth best-selling video game franchise of all time. Other products in the franchise include a line of action figures designed by Plan B Toys, a card game created by Upper Deck Company, Mega Bloks sets by Mega Brands, and a comic book miniseries published by WildStorm Productions, and a feature film in development by Paramount Pictures, set to be released in 2028.

Sledgehammer Games, which were co-developers for Modern Warfare 3, have developed three titles, Advanced Warfare (2014), WWII (2017), and Vanguard (2021). They are the lead developer for Modern Warfare III (2023), the third entry in the Modern Warfare reboot sub-series.