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Masha Borak

The next highly anticipated game in the hit Call of Duty franchise isn’t even out yet, but its new trailer is already being censored in China.
The new trailer for Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War that dropped last week is based around segments of a 1984 interview with former Soviet KGB informant and defector Yuri Bezmenov. His comments on Russian Cold War subversion strategies act as narration over real footage from conflicts of the era.
One of the clips shows protesters in Beijing on top of an armoured vehicle during the student-led protest in 1989 that culminated in a brutal military crackdown.
The clip is just shy of a second long, but some eagle-eyed viewers were quick to recognise it. That was enough to get the censors to roll in.


On local video platforms like Bilibili, the clip of the protests was soon replaced with a black screen or other footage. Then Activision released a one-minute version of the original two-minute trailer without the scene.
Showing the highly sensitive event was enough to get people buzzing about the game online. The offending clip was also shared on social platform Weibo last Thursday. To reference the clip without being censored, users started using alternative terms like “01:05”, the time the scene appears in the video.
Anything from rubber ducks to iPads are being used to keep the memory of Tiananmen alive
While the event is now infamous internationally, the Tiananmen crackdown remains a taboo topic in mainland China.
Censors still go into overdrive near the anniversary on June 4 each year to keep conversations out of public view online, deleting any content that could be related to to the bloody crackdown. But some netizens have learned to keep the memory of the event alive through memes and clever code words.

Some gamers have expressed concerned about the impact of showing the Tiananmen clip, saying on social media that they fear the new Call of Duty game could be banned in China. The Cold War theme also appears to have hit a nerve for some on Weibo, who compared it to the ongoing tensions between the US and China.
“You used to vilify Russians, now you vilify us,” one user commented.
The new game will get a full reveal on August 26. If it does face problems in China, it wouldn’t be the first time for the franchise.
Fall Guys is coming to smartphones in China after success on PC and PS4
In 2018, officials in one Chinese province singled out the 2012 game Call of Duty: Black Ops II during a crackdown on internet cafes that forced customers to stop playing banned video games. The Call of Duty game was found especially offensive because it showed a fictional World War II bombing raid in the heart of Beijing.
The franchise still remains popular with gamers in the country. The next franchise release in China might not be on PC or console, though. Call of Duty: Mobile, developed by Tencent studio TiMi, recently got the government’s go-ahead to be published in the country, although it doesn’t have a release date yet.


Rock ’n’ roll, internet are potential Western ‘colour revolution’ traps: Chinese textbook

China’s censorship of voices critical of proposed cyberspace ID sets a worrying precedent

China mutes law professor on social media after cybersecurity ID plan criticism

China’s leading apps, including WeChat and Taobao, test proposed national cyber ID system

Censorship in China

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer gets censored in China over Tiananmen Square crackdown footage

Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to point out footage from the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer. Photo: Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the latest instalment of the popular Call of Duty video game franchise, which is set to be revealed worldwide on August 26. Photo: Activision

Animal Crossing players organize virtual vigils for the Tiananmen Square crackdown

“Don’t forget June 4th,” says the pixel art on this Animal Crossing island. (Picture: Jovy Ip via Facebook)

Some players are using Animal Crossing’s special Wedding Season characters to organize events for mourning instead of marriage. (Picture:袁風 via Facebook)

Animal Crossing players have been uploading their Tiananmen commemorations on Instagram and Facebook. (Picture: Coco Chu via Facebook)

Bilibili is bringing Fall Guys to China as a mobile game following the battle royale’s success on PC and PS4

Bilibili says it will publish of a mobile version of Fall Guys in China. Picture: Handout

A Bilibili ad announcing that the Chinese company will bring an official mobile version of Fall Guys to mainland China. Picture: Handout

Mini games in Tencent’s WeChat are turning everyone into casual gamers in China, especially adults

WeChat data shows mini game players are split evenly between men and women. Photo: Shutterstock

Research shows that users flock to casual games because they don’t need special skills and or high commitment. Photo: Shutterstock

Tiao Yi Tiao was the first WeChat mini game that went viral. (Picture: Shutterstock)

Tencent to shore up gaming lead in China with Call of Duty, Ring Fit Adventure

Exercise action-role playing game Ring Fit Adventure was developed by Nintendo for its Switch console. Photo: Handout

Gameplay of Call of Duty Mobile, by Tencent. Photo: Handout

Tencent Holdings, which runs the world’s largest video games business by revenue, has added blockbuster titles Call of Duty: Mobile and Ring Fit Adventure to its stacked games portfolio in China. Photo: AP

Douyin, China’s TikTok, bans thousands of accounts in crackdown against porn, prostitution

A man using a smartphone walks past a sign of ByteDance-owned TikTok, the popular short-video app known in China as Douyin, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on October 18, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Abacus

Games


The trailer for the next highly anticipated Call of Duty game shows a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
Call of Duty got into trouble in China in 2012 after showing a fictional World War II bombing of Beijing



Chinese streaming platforms edited the trailer for the next highly anticipated Call of Duty game, cutting out a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.


Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer gets censored in China over Tiananmen Square crackdown footage

The trailer for the next highly anticipated Call of Duty game shows a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests Call of Duty got into trouble in China in 2012 after showing a fictional World War II bombing of Beijing

The trailer for the next highly anticipated Call of Duty game shows a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests

Call of Duty got into trouble in China in 2012 after showing a fictional World War II bombing of Beijing