The game Plague Inc., by Ndemic Creations, has been in existence since 2012 and has, say, apocalyptic goals. In it, you need to create a pathogen capable of sweeping the human population off the face of the Earth. Although the content is politically incorrect, the title has always been quite successful and, due to the epidemic of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the game has become even more popular in digital mobile stores. But now it has been banned from the App Store in China.
According to Ndemic Creations itself, the game was removed because officials said it "includes illegal content in China, as determined by the country's Cyberspace Administration". The producer also says that "it is not clear to us whether this removal is linked to the coronavirus outbreak that China is experiencing" - even more so because Plague Inc. had been on the App Store for years.
Image: Reproduction / Ndemic Creations
At the beginning of the outbreak, Ndemic Creations released a statement asking players not to treat the game as a "scientific model" for the spread of any disease. Now, with several countries confirming the first cases of Covid-19, the situation has become more delicate for this type of game.
"We are working hard to try to find a way to put the game back in the hands of Chinese players," said the developer. "As a small independent gaming studio in the UK, our immediate priority is to try to contact the China Cyberspace Administration to understand their concerns and work with them to find a solution."
Either way, Plague Inc. is still available on the App Store outside of China and can also be found for Android, PCs and consoles. Meanwhile, almost 82,800 Covid-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with 2,817 deaths and 33,350 recovered patients.
Source: ArsTechnica