The developers of Plague, Inc. have now unveiled a new mode for the pandemic strategy sim “which lets players save the world from a deadly disease outbreak.” The mode is being developed “with the help of experts from the World Health Organisation, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and more.”
The new game mode will be free for all players, the release date hasn’t announced yet.
As we noted back in January, the scope of coronavirus sparked a revived interest in Plague, Inc. which saw record-high numbers of simultaneous players on Steam. At the time, the developers warned that Plague, Inc. was not a accurate model, though it was created to be as realistic and educational as possible.
The makers of Plague, Inc. have also made a large $250,000 donation to aid in the fight against coronavirus, Ndemic Creations announced yesterday. The contribution is being divided between two organizations: CEPI, the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
“Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc. or that so many players would be using Plague Inc. to help them get through an actual pandemic,” said creator James Vaughan. “We are proud to be able to help support the vital work of the WHO and CEPI as they work towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19.”
CEPI is “a global alliance financing and coordinating the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.” The WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is trying to gather $675 million to fund the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to pursue the coronavirus, buy and ship protective gear for medical workers, and expedite efforts to develop tests and vaccines for the deadly virus.