Coronavirus: China bans mobile game that makes players take over world with a disease
Plague, Inc a game designed to make players help a disease spread across the world has been removed from the Chinese iOS App Store

- Feb 28, 2020,
- Updated Feb 28, 2020 3:54 PM IST
Popular mobile game Plague, Inc has run into trouble in China. The game, in which players has to take over the world with a disease has been removed from the Chinese iOS App Store.
"We've just been informed that Plague Inc. 'includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China' and has been removed from the China App Store," the developers, Ndemic Creations said in a blog. "This situation is completely out of our control."
The developers have said that they will try and talk to Cyberspace Adminstration of China and get the ban removed. The game will keep getting updates in the rest of the world.
The game saw a steep rise in downloads in China in the aftermath of the Coronavirus outbreak, becoming the top paid game in the country. The company had to remind people that its just a game that realistically emulates the spread of diesases and is designed to be informative about it. "We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities," the company said in January.
It's currently the top paid game in the US App Store too.
Ndemic Creations founder James Vaughan was even invited by the Centers for Disease Control in 2013 to talk about how games like Palgue, Inc can be used to spread information amongst the people.
Also read: Coronavirus cases shoot up again in China as relapse looms; fewer deaths a solace
Also Read: Corona beer victim of coronavirus outbreak
Also Read: How an incremental approach to human-assisted AI can help improve customer experience
Popular mobile game Plague, Inc has run into trouble in China. The game, in which players has to take over the world with a disease has been removed from the Chinese iOS App Store.
"We've just been informed that Plague Inc. 'includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China' and has been removed from the China App Store," the developers, Ndemic Creations said in a blog. "This situation is completely out of our control."
The developers have said that they will try and talk to Cyberspace Adminstration of China and get the ban removed. The game will keep getting updates in the rest of the world.
The game saw a steep rise in downloads in China in the aftermath of the Coronavirus outbreak, becoming the top paid game in the country. The company had to remind people that its just a game that realistically emulates the spread of diesases and is designed to be informative about it. "We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities," the company said in January.
It's currently the top paid game in the US App Store too.
Ndemic Creations founder James Vaughan was even invited by the Centers for Disease Control in 2013 to talk about how games like Palgue, Inc can be used to spread information amongst the people.
Also read: Coronavirus cases shoot up again in China as relapse looms; fewer deaths a solace
Also Read: Corona beer victim of coronavirus outbreak
Also Read: How an incremental approach to human-assisted AI can help improve customer experience
