China banned a worldwide released teaser trailer of the Activision’s most anticipated game Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. The game is said to be based on real life events and the trailer included lots of real-life documented footages, including one second footage of protesters clashing with troops in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The bloody protest at Tiananmen Square 1989, commonly known as June Fourth Incident in mainland China, were held by students and Chinese army was deployed to forcibly supress these protests. According to Wikipedia, the death tolls ranged from hundreds to thousands protesters and several soldiers.
China is infamous for its worldwide censorship and very strict internet regulations. This time the government has taken big steps to ban a trailer that includes the footage for a flying one second. The event is said to be a very sensitive topic in China and apparently that can be a reason for this big move.
An edited version of this trailer is said to be released in China and circulating around on Weibo. According to VICE reports, an informer states that China is deliberately trying to hide this video. As per his statement “The government is definitely cautious about the short clip because it reminds people about the atrocities that took place in Tiananmen Square. It tries to erase it but what happened in Tiananmen Square isn’t forgettable”
China is one of the biggest video games market in the world and Activision can make small changes in the game to be able to pass the stringent censorship requirements and release a bit modified version for China.
