New game mode in Plague Inc. gives you an option to save the world

Plague Inc: Evolved, popular simulation and strategy video game, will celebrate its 8th birthday this May.

Originally developed for smartphones back in 2012, in 2016 the game was introduced to a broader audience, with a release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And in 2019, the Switch version of the game was released.

Although already popular, the game achieved an unlikely boost in popularity in the last few months, due to the real-life COVID19 pandemic that's currently threatening the whole world. The coincidence was that around the same time when the real outbreak started, the game was on a big discount on Steam, which someone saw as a funny joke and an example of a good marketing strategy, while others saw it as a distasteful move, no matter the fact that it was simply a coincidence.

Shortly thereafter, the game was banned in China, which was a huge hit to companies' earnings, since the significant amount of profit is coming from Chinese players.

Now, around a month later, the game's developer Ndemic Creations is announcing a new game mode, which will let you control governments of the world in an effort to stop the spreading of the virus. This mode is being developed in collaboration with experts from the World Health Organisation, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, and other relevant institutions.

In this new game mode, you will fight against the pandemic with all the measures we see right now in the real world - social distancing, lockdowns, quarantines, shutdowns, boosting health care, etc.

In addition, they've also made a $250,000 donation to the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, in efforts to help the fight against the ongoing pandemic. They will also add notifications inside the game itself, which will encourage players to make a donation to COVID-19 Solidarity Respond Fund.