Ndemic, the publisher and developer of Plague Inc. has seen their fruits of their partnership with global health experts in the form of Plague Inc: The Cure, a major expansion to the game that has 160 million players worldwide.
Plague Inc: The Cure is available on the App Store and Google Play right now and will be made available on PC soon. It will also be free until COVID-19 is "under control". Originally announced back in March 2020, the project became large enough that it could be its own title on its own according to Ndemic. It's also not the first time that an expansion on a very different topic then spreading a plague has been made for Plague Inc., as its Fake News expansion is a different spin on the the formula as well, with the similar aim of education.
James Vaughan, the founder of Ndemic Creations, said:
“Plague Inc: The Cure is an engaging and timely simulation which lets players explore the issues that humanity faces when trying to stop a global pandemic”
“It was extremely challenging to fit such a complex topic into a game but the input that experts from CEPI and elsewhere provided has been invaluable in ensuring that Plague Inc: The Cure is both educational and engaging”
“Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc. or that my game would be in a position to help educate and inform people. Plague Inc: The Cure will be free for all Plague Inc. players until COVID-19 is under control.”
What's different from the original game is that players are trying to save the world by controlling its global pandemic response. Players will dispatch research teams to find patient zero, track the spread of the outbreak, support local response, and try to boost testing capacity. Other measures can be implemented such as contract tracing, lockdowns, and border closures to try and halt the spread.
Players will have to design quarantine and lockdown measures that the world will agree with, because if they are poorly designed people won't comply. The game was created with the help of experts all over the world such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), World Health Organisation (WHO), and Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).
Richard Hatchett, the CEO of CEPI, said:
“From contact tracing to vaccine development and manufacturing, Plague Inc: The Cure encapsulates the complexities of a global pandemic response and highlights how crucial international collaboration is needed to address such a threat.”
“Games like Plague Inc: The Cure represent an incredibly important medium for education and public awareness that can be used to show the world the steps needed to address similar global health threats and their associated complexities.”
“We are delighted that Ndemic Creations have taken the initiative to raise awareness of both the tools—like vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics—needed and the challenges that must be overcome to rapidly and effectively respond to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.”
What do you think about this expansion to Plague Inc.? Are you interested in playing it? Let us know in the comments!
