Coronavirus Outbreak Generates Huge Download Increase for iPhone Game

The Coronavirus outbreak has generated an unexpected increase in the number of downloads recorded by iPhone game Plague Inc. in the Chinese App Store.

Data shared by Daniel Ahmad on Twitter reveals that the number of people searching for this particular game has increased so much that Plague Inc. eventually became the number one paid iPhone app in China.

“China’s health commission confirmed recently that the Wuhan coronavirus, a new pneumonia like disease, had spread to around 300 people. This news has caused Plague Inc, a strategy game about a deadly plague that infects the world, to reach #1 on the paid iOS game chart in China,” Ahmad tweeted.

Plague Inc. is a game that allows players to control a pathogen specifically created to destroy the world, essentially by infecting the entire population of the planet.

Increasing downloads elsewhere

UK-based developer Ndemic Creations says it has received lots of questions regarding the Coronavirus outbreak, but the company recommends everyone to read the information posted by the World Health Organization.

“We’re getting a lot of questions about the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak- the World Health Organization has some great information,” it says.

As for the reasons the number of downloads is increasing these days, many believe that Chinese iPhone owners install the game in an attempt to deal with their concerns regarding Coronavirus. Similar boosts in the number of downloads recorded by Plague Inc. were also reported in 2014 when the Ebola virus hit Africa.

Plague Inc. is available in the App Store with a $0.99 price tag, and it can be installed on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 9.3 or later. The game is currently rated as the number 1 strategy title in the United States store as well, as the download count increases in other markets as well.