In what could possibly be due to heightened tensions and awareness during the Coronavirus outbreak, China has pulled the game Plague Inc. from its regional App Store. The official reasoning behind this was because the game "includes content that is illegal in China, as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China". The developers, Ndemic Creations, are attempting to appeal this decision, by contacting the previously mentioned Cyberspace Administration. Previously, Plague Inc. has been on the Chinese App Store for years, making it likely that the removal was due to sensitivity around viruses and pandemics and its relation to current events. In the past few weeks since Coronavirus cases were first diagnosed in China, the game surged in popularity, to which the developer had to issue an official statement stating that while Plague Inc. was made to portray pandemics realistically, it shouldn't be used as a tool to actually measure a real-life disease and how it would spread.

We have some very sad news to share with our China based players. 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. This situation is completely out of our control.



Plague Inc. is a huge critical and commercial success. Eight years old and with over 130 million players, it’s the #1 strategy/simulation game worldwide and has been the most popular paid game in China for many years. Plague Inc. stands out as an intelligent and sophisticated simulation that encourages players to think and learn more about serious public health issues. We have a huge amount of respect for our Chinese players and are devastated that they are no longer able to access and play Plague Inc.



It’s not clear to us if this removal is linked to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that China is facing. However, Plague Inc.’s educational importance has been repeatedly recognised by organisations like the CDC and we are currently working with major global health organisations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19.



We are working very hard to try and find a way to get the game back in the hands of Chinese players - we don’t want to give up on you - however, as a tiny independent games studio in the UK, the odds are stacked against us. Our immediate priority is to try and make contact with the Cyberspace Administration of China to understand their concerns and work with them to find a resolution.



Nothing is changing outside of mainland China: we will continue to support and update both Plague Inc. and our newest game Rebel Inc. on all platforms whilst also working hard to try and find a way to bring Plague Inc. back to players in China.



We will share more information about our efforts to support the fight against COVID-19 soon. You can find our statement on the current coronavirus outbreak here.



Chinese translation available here.

Source

 

[IncredulousP]

Lmao.
"Law and Order to now air an hour later due to coronavirus scare."
"The color blue now deemed illegal amid coronavirus outbreak."
"Gravity reverses due to coronavirus spreading."

 

[zoogie]

Corona beer's days are numbered, lol.

The meme outbreak continues.

 

[weatMod]

they don't need to download it , they are playing it in IRL
Chinese BSL-4 lab workers who leaked the virus are using cheat mode though

 

[XDel]

Ya, wouldn't want to make a shadey government with a reputation like theirs, to look like they created it themselves to depopulate. They only murder via ethical means, such as forced abortion.

 

[Deleted member 506316]

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T HELP BUT LAUGH!
Boi.

 

[chrisrlink]

i should download my copy for pc in case MS does something

 

[wartutor]

Holy shit next what are they goin to do pull mario games cause it depicts a better life for a plumber if he eats mushrooms and jumps down sewer pipes good fucking god.

 

[Viri]

Yeah, I'm sure this well help the health and safety of the Chinese citizens living in mainland China.

 

[Bladexdsl]

they just need to play dr mario to find the cure

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Shame I have the game on my phone and play it constantly... For a mobile game it's 10 out 10.

 

[Taleweaver]

I...can't really blame them. I certainly don't agree, but I can see their reasoning, and it's not a silly one. Please lemme state why before y'all boo me off the internet:

Plague Inc. has an incredible atmosphere. It has the dangerous music, the pulsing heartbeats, the yellow&black nuclear theme, the imminent danger of a world map exponentially increasingly filling up with red dots. Basically: everything you expect from something dealing with a virus outbreak (I'd call it cliché, but clichés are when they're so overused they lose their importance. This isn't used THAT much). In other words: it's extremely meme-worthy. And that makes it dangerous, as it only takes one person with some video editing skills and a desire for "going viral" (no pun intended) to cause chaos in the streets.

Basically: this video game has the potential to suggest legitimacy to just about any lunatic.

 

[Dinomite]

...because the game "includes content that is illegal in China, as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China".

lol was it too accurate for the Chinese overlords to handle?

 

[Taffy]

they just need to play dr mario to find the cure

In the Mushroom Kingdom I'm the finest doc by far,
I got my degree by watching House and Scrubs and E.R...

Brightly colored pills!

They'll cure all your ills!

Just as long as you have fever or the chills.

 

[morrison22]

they just need to play dr mario to find the cure

I logged in just to like this comment.

 

[BraveDragonWolf]

The C-Virus...

 

[Viri]

The C-Virus...

Ahhh, I see you don't want to get demonetized on Youtube!

 

[Ampersound]

Nice censorship you got there China. Glad to hear you're protecting your citizens from fun videogame apps.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

they just need to play dr mario to find the cure

 

[SS4]

Never played it, i used to play Pandemic 2 quite a lot many years ago though