Ndemic Creations, the developer of outbreak management sim Plague Inc., has revealed that the Coronavirus outbreak caused sales of the game to spike. Plague Inc. is a strategy game that lets you simulate the outbreak of a disease. The goal is to end all human life, and the player has to use all means possible to spread the virus around the globe before a cure is created. The game relies on real-word scenarios and can be used as a way of understanding how viruses spread. While the developer is happy with the rise in interest, it’s wary of some using it as a learning tool. “Plague Inc. has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks,” the developer wrote.
“We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative, while not sensationalising serious real-world issues. This has been recognised by the CDC and other leading medical organisations around the world. “However, please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people. We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities.” According to the BBC, Plague Inc. became the best-selling app in China following news of the outbreak. The developer’s website was also down for a time following a surge in interest, which motivated it to issue that statement. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 81 people in China, with 2,827 confirmed cases in the country alone.
