In what might be the most distasteful game announcement since Hatred, Polish studio Jujubee has revealed an upcoming title, COVID: The Outbreak: [prebreak]1[/prebreak]

​

COVID: The Outbreak is a real-time strategy game in which you play the role of a global organization that has to deal with a global pandemic. Issue decrees, manage resources, develop projects, and construct buildings. A race for the vaccine begins!

In addition to crisis management, the game provides the players with information on how to behave in the event of an epidemic, what actions to take, and how to protect themselves and their loved ones in the most effective way. The game is based on the data published by WHO and on the information acquired from experts and consultants.

“Here at Jujubee we are passionate about educating our audience while they are having a good time playing our games. Currently, there is a plethora of misinformation circulating the topic of the coronavirus, so we hope our strategy game will serve as a source of entertainment and education for our players.” - says Pawel Nitta, Head of Marketing & PR.

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GAME FEATURES

Pandemic Management - advise the world what needs to be done in order to survive the dreadful disease; manage funds, staff, medicine, and research priorities.

Issue Emergency Decrees - declare national emergency and close borders, enforce obligatory vaccination, close schools and airports. Do whatever it takes to stop the coronavirus.

Research New Projects - developing new ways to fight off the disease is a sound strategy. Remember to be cautious as your enemy may mutate, rendering your newly acquired ability completely useless.

Unpredictable Events - how you handle the ongoing fake news, mass stockpiling of supplies, or people ignoring the incoming threat will go a long way towards deciding whether you will prevail against the disease, or succumb to it.

Construct Vital Buildings - build hospitals, emergency tents, research institutions, checkpoints, police stations, and a whole lot more. Every building you enact may become the decisive factor in stopping the outbreak.

Games Beyond™ - educate yourself on how a coronavirus operates, what can you do if you become infected, and why quarantines are issued. Understand why a pandemic is a threat to humanity.



COVID: The Outbreak release May 19th on Steam.

 

[Stealphie]

View attachment 206875​

In what might be the most distasteful game announcement since Hatred, Polish studio Jujubee has revealed an upcoming title, COVID: The Outbreak: [prebreak]1[/prebreak]

​

COVID: The Outbreak is a real-time strategy game in which you play the role of a global organization that has to deal with a global pandemic. Issue decrees, manage resources, develop projects, and construct buildings. A race for the vaccine begins!

In addition to crisis management, the game provides the players with information on how to behave in the event of an epidemic, what actions to take, and how to protect themselves and their loved ones in the most effective way. The game is based on the data published by WHO and on the information acquired from experts and consultants.

“Here at Jujubee we are passionate about educating our audience while they are having a good time playing our games. Currently, there is a plethora of misinformation circulating the topic of the coronavirus, so we hope our strategy game will serve as a source of entertainment and education for our players.” - says Pawel Nitta, Head of Marketing & PR.

View attachment 206873 View attachment 206874
​

GAME FEATURES

Pandemic Management - advise the world what needs to be done in order to survive the dreadful disease; manage funds, staff, medicine, and research priorities.

Issue Emergency Decrees - declare national emergency and close borders, enforce obligatory vaccination, close schools and airports. Do whatever it takes to stop the coronavirus.

Research New Projects - developing new ways to fight off the disease is a sound strategy. Remember to be cautious as your enemy may mutate, rendering your newly acquired ability completely useless.

Unpredictable Events - how you handle the ongoing fake news, mass stockpiling of supplies, or people ignoring the incoming threat will go a long way towards deciding whether you will prevail against the disease, or succumb to it.

Construct Vital Buildings - build hospitals, emergency tents, research institutions, checkpoints, police stations, and a whole lot more. Every building you enact may become the decisive factor in stopping the outbreak.

Games Beyond™ - educate yourself on how a coronavirus operates, what can you do if you become infected, and why quarantines are issued. Understand why a pandemic is a threat to humanity.



COVID: The Outbreak release May 19th on Steam.

deleted

 

[Anxiety_timmy]

I am surprised that this didn't happen sooner

 

[GamerzHell9137]

I wouldn't let it sell on my platform because its pandering to the fear. And really disrespectful to people who lost their loved one's because of it.

 

[comput3rus3r]

The true question is will this game let me play as Trump and tell people to inject cleaning products?

Or will this game let me play as CNN allow me to inject the female hormone (estrogen) into men to save them from Covid?

 

[m_babble]

Cream dream for lames.

 

[SG854]

Yay, another game which will fall into obscurity in a year.

That's what happened to everything.

 

[altorn]

Will this game have microtransactions where i can buy n95 masks for $9.99?

 

[FAST6191]

I wouldn't let it sell on my platform because its pandering to the fear. And really disrespectful to people who lost their loved one's because of it.

Is it pandering to fear?
I don't see how the 90s advert would run
"If you feared it in the real world you will enjoy COVID: The Outbreak. A highly realistic simulation of the pandemic sweeping the nation. [insert cutaways of kids doing something like whoah, possibly with some rotating effects or sliding screens of the action]. $19.99 at your nearest retailer. Available on all systems."

Also how is it disrespectful? Or indeed any more disrespectful than the thousands of war films, TV shows, games, books and whatever that also see many people die?

 

[Kraken_X]

It doesn't seem to be in bad taste to me. They stated education as one of their main goals. I think it all comes down to how accurate and factual they keep it. From the description it sounds like they are trying to use real data and real WHO recommendations as the basis. If people can see a fairly accurate representation of following or not following those recommendations play out in real time, that seems like a good thing all around.

We have a real problem with fake news and misinformation right now, so the question is whether this game will help inform or misinform...

 

[Jayro]

can you play as china and admit they created this virus in a lab?

Even better... You can be China and keep your airports open like a dumbass so it escapes your country!

 

[Andy2001]

View attachment 206875​

In what might be the most distasteful game announcement since Hatred, Polish studio Jujubee has revealed an upcoming title, COVID: The Outbreak: [prebreak]1[/prebreak]

​

COVID: The Outbreak is a real-time strategy game in which you play the role of a global organization that has to deal with a global pandemic. Issue decrees, manage resources, develop projects, and construct buildings. A race for the vaccine begins!

In addition to crisis management, the game provides the players with information on how to behave in the event of an epidemic, what actions to take, and how to protect themselves and their loved ones in the most effective way. The game is based on the data published by WHO and on the information acquired from experts and consultants.

“Here at Jujubee we are passionate about educating our audience while they are having a good time playing our games. Currently, there is a plethora of misinformation circulating the topic of the coronavirus, so we hope our strategy game will serve as a source of entertainment and education for our players.” - says Pawel Nitta, Head of Marketing & PR.

View attachment 206873 View attachment 206874
​

GAME FEATURES

Pandemic Management - advise the world what needs to be done in order to survive the dreadful disease; manage funds, staff, medicine, and research priorities.

Issue Emergency Decrees - declare national emergency and close borders, enforce obligatory vaccination, close schools and airports. Do whatever it takes to stop the coronavirus.

Research New Projects - developing new ways to fight off the disease is a sound strategy. Remember to be cautious as your enemy may mutate, rendering your newly acquired ability completely useless.

Unpredictable Events - how you handle the ongoing fake news, mass stockpiling of supplies, or people ignoring the incoming threat will go a long way towards deciding whether you will prevail against the disease, or succumb to it.

Construct Vital Buildings - build hospitals, emergency tents, research institutions, checkpoints, police stations, and a whole lot more. Every building you enact may become the decisive factor in stopping the outbreak.

Games Beyond™ - educate yourself on how a coronavirus operates, what can you do if you become infected, and why quarantines are issued. Understand why a pandemic is a threat to humanity.



COVID: The Outbreak release May 19th on Steam.

Low hanging fruit

 

[BraveDragonWolf]

Because they think this will help with the actual world problem...

 

[DjoeN]

There facebook site is offline

 

[chrisrlink]

you guys laugh it off but i feel it's insensitive w..t...f...?

 

[Captain_N]

rts? type of games i think of when u say rts are, warcraft 1,2,3 starcraft, Command and conquer and red alert, empire earth and age f empires 1,2,3. This is no RTS, its a pandemic sim. Where is the base building, connection of resources, selecting units and moving them in real time? If your unfamiliar with rts play age of empires 2.

 

[FAST6191]

you guys laugh it off but i feel it's insensitive w..t...f...?

Care to elaborate upon that.
Why should we not have games to explore things that exist within the world?

rts? type of games i think of when u say rts are, warcraft 1,2,3 starcraft, Command and conquer and red alert, empire earth and age f empires 1,2,3. This is no RTS, its a pandemic sim. Where is the base building, connection of resources, selecting units and moving them in real time? If your unfamiliar with rts play age of empires 2.

Leaving aside the incredibly divisive discussion of what genre is, and whether it is worth the effort any more, I can give you examples going back to the earliest days of things most would consider RTS lacking all of those (populous had no unit selection, just vague direction, many are pure military so no resources saving your units themselves, and plenty more have maybe the most token element of that).
Still if it happens in real time that you select an overview of course of action to determine events on a map it is probably RTS. Sure that would probably mean a football sim counts but frankly why not?

Similarly in the nuts and bolts of it is a pandemic sim any different to a business sim? Adapt for certain markers/conditions to increase maximum penetration (or removal of a competitor).

 

[Captain_N]

id have to say the true rts started with westwoods dune. You can see its clearly early command and conquer. This game almost seems simcity like. Its not something ill be playing anyways. If it was another Empire earth id be all over it.

 

[Localhorst86]

Yeah, I don't see the issue either. This game does not sound distasteful to me. Tha games synopsis sounds similar to the board game "pandemic". It's certainly not less tasteful than plague Inc. For all we know, this game could have been in development for ages and aside from the name itself, which seems to intentionally be chosen to get PR, I'm neither shocked, nor surprised or disappointed. I do believe that it might have been a better idea to wait a few more months, I would be worried people use this game as a "covid simulator" and making conclusions for real world behaviour regarding the disease.

 

[FAST6191]

If you are going to go that way there are several things that predate that


Again thought genre is a pretty weak term from where I sit, and the "established genres" notion even weaker than that.

 

[Teletron1]