Apple Takes Down “Plague Inc” Virus-Themed Gaming App

“Plague Inc,” popular gaming allowing players to create a virus, then spread it around the world has been taken down from the Chinese Apple’s App Store as the country continues battling the Coronavirus epidemic.

Starting from February 28, users who are residing in China couldn’t download the game after the app was removed following the cyberspace watchdog’s order.

According to Ndemic, it wasn’t clear if this move was linked to the new deadly Coronavirus, which spread from central China back in September.

In mainland China, the contagion has infected around 79,000 people and killed over 2,700.

Although China’s number of new cases is declining, other countries are seeing more infected people.

Ndemic said:

The company was trying to reach the Cyberspace Administration to work together and find a resolution. Apple didn't respond when being asked for comments.

In 2012, “Plague Inc” came out in 2012 and now has over 130 million players.

Ndemic said that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously recognized the simulation game as an educational tool.

And the company was working with global health organizations to see how it could contribute its efforts to contain and control the virus.

After the game was taken down, players went on Weibo, China’s Twitter to criticize the decision.

One player wrote:

Another wrote that Tim Cook, Apple chief executive was accepted to join the Communist Party. Previously, Apple had been accused of removing Hkmap.live and bowing to China’s censors. During the Hong Kong protests, pro-democracy protesters used the app to track police.

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