Bossa Studios, makers of the endlessly funny and beloved Surgeon Simulator, will give away free copies of Surgeon Simulator 2 to all employees of United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). Since 2013, Surgeon Simulator and the 2020 sequel Surgeon Simulator 2 have given gamers a truly accurate experience of what it's like to be the clumsiest and most light-heartedly dangerous surgeon in the world.
The premise and format for both games hasn't changed too much over the years. Surgeon Simulator initially had players performing haphazard operations on a patient named Bob. A handful of DLC updates allowed players to jump into increasingly absurd medical situations, including the Team Fortress 2-themed "Meet the Medic" that had surgeons operating on the Heavy character, the "Code Name Trisha" DLC that added the unique challenge of operating on alien anatomy, and the "Inside Donald Trump" DLC, which gave players the opportunity to give the President of the United States much-needed heart surgery. Surgeon Simulator 2 has expanded the already wacky gameplay by offering a customization and building system, allowing players to move about their operating room, work with other surgeons, and build Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions to help facilitate successful (or doomed) surgeries.
Surgeon Simulator 2 has been out for little over a month, and as much of the world continues to try and stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic, developers at Bossa Studios have offered a free copy of Surgeon Simulator 2 to all workers of the NHS. Bossa Studios CEO, Henrique Olifiers, stated "At Bossa, we’ve always envisioned Surgeon Simulator 2 as a valuable training tool for NHS workers to hone their healthcare skills! The Surgeon Simulator 2 community is frankly rubbish at saving Bob, so we think our players need to be shown how it’s really done." This cheeky training initiative spearheaded by Bossa Studios is known as the NHS: National Handout of Surgeon Simulator initiative, or NHSNHSS for short. The studio pledges that all doctors, nurses, surgeons, and ancillary employees of the NHS with an active NHS email can claim a free copy of Surgeon Simulator 2 until October 22, 2020.
Of course, no truly reasonable medical professional would look at games like Surgeon Simulator or Surgeon Simulator 2 as training tools for real life doctors and surgeons. Dr. Idris Morgan, who goes by Doctor Mim on Youtube, replied cheekily, "Surgeon Simulator 2 is absolutely NOT a viable medical training tool." In addition to Dr. Morgan, Bossa Studios have roped in real life cardiologists, heart surgeons, radiologists, and various other healthcare professionals to compete and see which of them can complete an in-game heart transplant the fastest. This competition will be streamed as part of a 24-hour fundraiser benefiting the North Lincolnshire NHS Trust, and will begin on October 15, 2020 at 5 AM EST/10 AM BST.
The NHS has no doubt been on the frontlines of COVID-19 treatment and prevention in the United Kingdom, so these amazing gestures from Bossa Studios are meaningful measure of support in such desperate times. It's also incredibly heartwarming that various gaming companies, such as Eve Online's CCP, have taken the initiative to support medical workers and researchers in whatever way they can. While Surgeon Simulator 2 won't be supplying scientists with crucial cellular mapping data, it will definitely be a nice treat and form of respite for overworked health workers.
Surgeon Simulator 2 is available now for PC.