In what seems to be an unintended error, the UK government has reportedly included Plague Inc. QR codes in confusing COVID-19 emails. Ndemic Creations’ Plague Inc. is a survival simulation game in which players are tasked with creating and developing their own infectious disease, ultimately spreading it across the world and eventually killing all of Earth’s inhabitants. Plague Inc.’s sales skyrocketed early into the pandemic, with players seeking to learn how diseases spread and understand the complexities of viral outbreaks.
During the first year of the pandemic, Ndemic Creations donated $250,000 to help fight COVID-19, and also released a new game mode for Plague Inc., in which players help stop a pandemic rather than start one. Plague Inc: The Cure is a unique expansion that alters the game’s mechanics. In the original version, players have to mutate an infectious disease in order for it to spread more wildly across the planet. However, The Cure reverses that more menacing goal, asking players instead to eliminate a plague by hunting the disease, controlling its outbreak, supporting the economy, and developing a vaccine. Ndemic Creations offered Plague Inc: The Cure for free until COVID-19 is under control.
As first reported by GameByte, official Coronavirus emails from the UK government seemed to include Plague Inc. QR codes that opened up the game if it was installed on the phone. The confusing emails containing the Plague Inc. QR codes were originally meant for recipients to collect COVID-19 tests. Instead, the given code opened the Plague Inc. app, rather than diverting to the intended link. While the numerical code included in the emails is still a valid way to get the COVID-19 testing kits, the QR code - meant for easier access - was not displaying properly in a number of emails. Twitter user PetreN demonstrated this in a video they posted, in which the QR code sent by the UK government opened directly to the Plague Inc. app, with the main page including access to the Plague Inc: The Cure game mode. The UK government has not yet announced the reason for the invalid codes.
It's not yet clear why Plague Inc. QR codes were sent instead of links to legitimate COVID-19 resources. While Plague Inc.’s update allows players to save the world, the UK government likely doesn’t count it as one of those legitimate resources. Another theory suggests that internal codenames used in the original QR codes were inadvertently shared with Plague Inc., ultimately confusing smartphones which opened the game instead of the intended link.
While an arguably hilarious coincidence, the Plague Inc. QR codes have caused confusion during the UK government’s COVID-19 response, as evident in PetreN’s video. For residents in need of testing kits, being sent to Plague Inc. - a game about creating plagues - instead of a website providing resources can provide undo stress. Hopefully, the correct QR codes have been sent in subsequent emails and the UK government is working with Plague Inc. to prevent future mishaps.
Source: PetreN/Twitter (via GameByte)