Plague Inc., the game where the main aim is to spread a plague around the world, is feeling a little close to home right now: but it seems a change in objective is on the way, as developer Ndemic Creations is working on a new game mode where players save the world. Oh, and it’s making a cool $250k (around £213k) donation towards fighting the current coronavirus outbreak.
Announced via blog post, Plague Inc. creator James Vaughan said that eight years ago, he “never imagined the world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc. or that so many players would be using Plague Inc. to get them through an actual pandemic.
“We are proud to be able to help support the vital work of the WHO and CEPI as they work towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19.”
If you’re wondering exactly what those organisations are, the 250k is being split between the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (a foundation that helps finance research for vaccines), and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Anyone can donate to the latter, which is currently helping the WHO track and understand the virus, get supplies to frontline workers, and accelerate efforts to create vaccines, tests and treatments.