The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China has banned the hit first-person shooter Battlefield 4. Officials claim EA's game is laced with content that endangers national security according to multiple reports from Chinese websites including China.com and QQ.
The websites point to a notice issued by the Ministry of Culture that declares Battlefield 4 as an illegal video game that aggressively attacks the country's culture. As per the ban, they demand that all items related to the game - including downloads, patches, raiders and news - be deleted.
Chinese social media website Weibo has since banned all searches for the Chinese translation of Battlefield 4 according to Polygon. When a user searches for the game, they instead receive a message saying that Battlefield 4 search results are not displayed due to relevant laws, regulations and policies. The term "BF4" has not yet been blocked and is being used as a workaround to refer to the title, we're told.
The ban comes just after the recently launched map pack titled China Rising for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The pack includes four maps that take place across mainland China although the game's campaign may have also been a source for criticism by the Chinese government.
The single-player story features a Chinese general as the "bad guy" who tries to overthrow the government and get support from the Russians in order to start a war with the US.