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“Plague Inc. now has a free mode where you fight a pandemic - The Verge” plus 1 more

“Plague Inc. now has a free mode where you fight a pandemic - The Verge” plus 1 more


Plague Inc. now has a free mode where you fight a pandemic - The Verge

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 12:00 AM PST

Plague Inc. — the strategy game about evolving and spreading diseases — received an update yesterday with a new mode that flips the script on its original gameplay. The new mode, titled Plague Inc: The Cure, is developer Ndemic Creations' attempt to simulate the real-life, multifaceted approach required to stop a pandemic, based on input it received from real experts.

The game originally launched in 2012 but surged in popularity this March after news of the COVID-19 outbreak spread across the world. The Cure is a response to our current reality, featuring several stages of containing a pandemic, like researching the disease, using techniques like contact tracing, and developing a vaccine. Ndemic stresses that the game shouldn't be taken as a scientific model, but with the input of experts, it does capture an idea of the kind of response required to stop something like COVID-19.

Infection rates in Plague Inc: The Cure.
Image: Ndemic Creations

Ndemic announced a pair of donations in March to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to aid in COVID-19 relief efforts. Discussions around those donations ultimately prompted the development of this new mode, which Ndemic based on input from both organizations.

The resulting mode seems to have successfully integrated that real-life science, producing gameplay that CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett says "encapsulates the complexities of a global pandemic response and highlights how crucial international collaboration is needed to address such a threat."

Ndemic Creations says Plague Inc: The Cure will be free "until COVID-19 is under control." The new mode is available now on iOS and Android with PC and console releases to follow soon.

Plague Inc: The Cure is out right now and totally free - PC Gamer

Posted: 31 Jan 2021 12:00 AM PST

True to their promise from last year, the developers of Plague Inc have released a free DLC for owners of the original game about finding a cure to a global pandemic, rather than being one. "Created with the help of world health experts from all over the world including the WHO, CEPI and GOARN, Plague Inc: The Cure is an engaging and timely simulation of a global disease response," say Ndemic Creations in the game's description.

It's full of brand new game mechanics over the base Plague Inc scenarios, and they're pretty neat. Players do work like hunting the disease with research teams, controlling the outbreak with social programs, supporting those controls with economic programs, and ultimately develop a vaccine that must be researched, manufactured, and distributed. All of those steps are reliant on global cooperation between countries. 

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