A new coronavirus affects Asian countries. – AP / SIPA
In the midst of a coronavirus epidemic, a video game whose aim is to spread a virus is a hit.
China. Plague Inc. indeed proposes to spread
a deadly virus as widely as possible in the world by overtaking scientists trying to develop a treatment.
The title has become the most downloaded mobile game in China in recent weeks, even though the coronavirus has already killed 26 people in the country, reports the HuffPost. Launched in 2012, Plague Inc. had already experienced a peak in downloads in 2014 in the midst of the
Ebola virus in Africa.
We’re getting a lot of questions about the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak- the World Health Organization has some great information here: https://t.co/aG29SD68Iu pic.twitter.com/kLFq6CmPGo
– Plague Inc. / Rebel Inc. (@NdemicCreations) January 22, 2020
A peak of downloads with each epidemic
“We created this game specifically to be realistic and informative without surfing on the very serious problems of the real world,” said Ndemic Creations, the publisher of the game, who said that is not a “scientific model”. “The current situation with the coronavirus is very real and affects a huge number of people,” said the editor.
The creators note a craze for the game every time an epidemic starts in the world. Internet users are even turning to the publisher to learn about the Chinese coronavirus. This Wednesday, Ndemic Creations reminded on Twitter that it was better to visit the WHO website for this.
Still, in its own way, the strategy game with 120 million downloads has educational virtues and contributes to a better understanding of how viruses work. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already welcomed Plague Inc. for the “non-traditional route used to inform the population” about epidemics.
