After reaching a massive number of sales amid the spread of coronavirus, Plague Inc. has now been banned from the Chinese iOS App Store where it was originally sold, a decision made directly by the Chinese government. Chinese gamers will no longer be able to purchase or access the game.
Plague Inc. is a virus simulation game which encourages players to create their own infection, pick a spot of origin, and see if they can grow it in such a way as to destroy the entire human race. Despite (or because of) the macabre nature, the game has been an immense hit for 8 years, gathering over 130 million players around the globe and inspiring a number of add-ons and even tabletop games as a result. It also appears cathartic, as when the coronavirus news was first revealed in China, purchases of Plague Inc. exploded and within only a couple days it became the top-selling game in the App Store once more. Chinese players joked about using the app to make themselves feel better – or at least explore future possibilities.
Ndemic Creations provided the news of the ban to other players around the globe in an announcement explaining what they knew and the efforts the company was making to resolve the issue. The company stated that their game had been flagged as including "content that is illegal in China" and they reminded players that:
“We have a huge amount of respect for our Chinese players and are devastated that they are no longer able to access and play Plague Inc... Plague Inc.’s educational important has been repeatedly recognized by organisations like the CDC and we are currently working with major global health organisations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19.”
Why the Chinese government chose this time to remove the app is unclear, although China's views on gaming as whole seems to be continually deteriorating, but as the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, fears have only increased, and the Chinese government’s actions regarding civil unrest are well-documented. The Cyber Administration of China made only a general statement that the game included illegal content. What exactly is illegal in Plague Inc. is unclear, as the game doesn’t have a political point of view, and doesn’t feature any of the content China usually bans games for like skeletons, gore, etc.
Unfortunately, the Chinese player base now missing out on the game is immense, and they aren't the only gamers to be affected by COVID-19. PlayStation is skipping important events like GDC thanks to worries about the virus' spreading capabilities, and movies like Mission Impossible 7 are being delayed. However, that doesn't really explain China's sudden action to ban the Plague Inc. video game. Perhaps it's part of a larger control effort, as some have already reported that critics of China's virus efforts have disappeared in the country. Hopefully, Plague Inc. will be restored on the App Store soon, and the cornonavirus will become the thing which is banned.
Source: Ndemic Creations