Responding to requests from the WHO (World Health Organization) and others, Plague Inc. developer Ndemic Creations is updating its famed mobile apocalyptic simulator game with a mode which will allow players to fight disease progression and eliminate deadly viruses. It’s a sharp change from the traditional Plague, Inc. model, which has players create a virus and work to spread it around the world until it infects even stubborn places like Greenland and Madagascar.
Plague Inc. has seen an interesting renaissance since the beginning of 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. Back when the coronavirus was largely contained to China, sales of Plague Inc. shot up among Chinese players until it was the top selling Apple game app in the country, with Chinese players mentioning that playing the simulation felt like a way to gain some semblance of control over frightening events. Not long afterward, China banned Plague Inc. for reasons that are still unclear. Ndemic, however, continues to stay in the spotlight as coronavirus spreads, eventually consulting with organizations like WHO and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations).
Now Ndemic Creations is making two large changes in the wake of the coronavirus. First, the company is donating $250,000, to be split between the WHO and CEPI specifically for COVID-19 efforts. Second – and more pertinent to gamers worldwide, especially as a real-world pandemic is currently delaying games – the studio will be releasing a new version of Plague, Inc. that reverses the goal of the original and instead tasks players with fighting and eventually eradicating a dangerous disease.
The simulation nature of Plague Inc. will still be a core part of this new game mode, but this time players will manage things like healthcare systems, triage, quarantine solutions, closing public services – and yes, social distancing. The goal will be to chart disease progression and save the world. Ndemic hasn’t announced a release date for this new mode yet, but assures players that it will be completely free.
Thus far, Ndemic has been known for strategy games that allow players to wipe humans off the earth, or – in the case of Rebel Inc. – ruthlessly put down an attempted insurgency. Turning the tables and encouraging a player to save the world for the sake of humanity is a different prospect for the studio, and a potentially lucrative one, as it certainly did wonders for Doom: Eternal's sales. Will Ndemic find their future looks brighter with anti-apocalypse games? It depends how much attention this new Plague Inc. mode gets, but it’s certainly a timely decision.
Source: Ndemic Creations