Chinese Government Bans Battlefield 4 For Threatening National Security

It's not uncommon for some governments to censor a video game before its release in their respective countries, but it's a bit rarer to see a title banned outright. Germany tends to come to many minds first when it comes to video game bannings, as it most notably outlaws the Wolfenstein series. But even countries like Australia have banned a good-sized collection of titles, including recent ones like Saints Row IV and The Witcher 2.

The latest title to suffer this fate is Battlefield 4, and given much of the game's content, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that it's China behind this one.

In the title's first expansion pack, China Rising, the player engages in a war targeting China which has the US' and Russia's involvement. The goal? To overturn the corrupt government, and liberate the country's people.

It's probably not hard to understand why China isn't a fan of this premise. It has outright charged DICE and EA for depicting a form of cultural invasion, and the ban extends far enough to encompass even the very mention of the name. News reports are unable to talk about it, and the Mandarin equivalent of the name is banned from search engines.

Those in China who still want the game will have no other choice but to find it available online somewhere via illegitimate means, although it wouldn't be surprising if China somehow put a stop to that, as well.

Given China's well-established policies, and general policing of what goes on in its country, we'd have to imagine that DICE and EA saw this banning coming from a mile away.