Call of Duty trailer replaced over Tiananmen Square clip

Blink and you’ll miss it – but it was enough to force one iconic gaming franchises to quietly replace its trailer after it was blocked in China.

The first trailer for the latest Call of Duty game has been blocked in China – and edited everywhere else – following alleged censoring by the Chinese government.

The teaser for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War debuted last week and featured historical footage, including a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

The less-than-one-second clip that sparked outrage.

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The pro-democracy demonstrations led to the massacre of thousands of attendees after Chinese soldiers opened fire on the unarmed crowd.

Black Ops Cold War’s two-minute-and-two-second trailer, posted to YouTube August 19, included a clip of protesters on top of an armoured vehicle during the riots.

On August 21, that original version was removed from the official Xbox and Call of Duty YouTube channels, gaming news site Kotaku reports.

In the US and UK, the video was replaced with a shorter, one-minute version that was missing the Tiananmen Square clip.

A message that greets YouTube users trying to watch the original teaser trailer Call of Duty originally uploaded.

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In China, the trailer has been banned altogether, according to the South China Morning Post.

“The clip is just shy of a second long, but some eagle-eyed viewers were quick to recognise it,” the site said. “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.”

The Call of Duty trailer is based around parts of a 1984 interview with Soviet KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov.

An old interview with Soviet KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov leads the very "woah man" trailer for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War

Real footage of historic Cold War events is cut over Yuri, a KGB informant, as he discusses the Soviet Union’s plans to topple the United States.

As well as the Tiananmen Square protests, the video features footage of the Vietnam War and subsequent protests in the US.

Call of Duty publisher Activision has not confirmed why it took down the original trailer.

The Sun has reached out to the firm for comment.

Other clips in the video show nuclear teasting and the failed invasion of Vietnam.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters were killed in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, in June 1989.

Around one million people gathered in the square in Beijing during student-led demonstrations.

Tanks began moving into position late on June 3 and troops opened fire, killing and injuring many unarmed people in and around the square.

It is generally estimated thousands died and as many as 10,000 were arrested for their part in the demonstrations, with several dozen executed.

Beijing still regularly censors online conversations about the massacre, particularly around the June anniversary each year.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.