We have some very sad news to share with our China based players. Yesterday evening, we were informed that Plague Inc. "includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China" and was being removed from the Steam ( as well as 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 (mobile) game worldwide and has been the most popular (mobile) 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 (www.cac.gov.cn) 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:
https://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/news/172-statement-on-the-current-coronavirus-outbreak
Link to original announcement in Chinese:
https://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/news/174-app-store
Steam :: Plague Inc: Evolved :: Plague Inc. banned in China
我们十分难过地宣布中国国家网信办认定《瘟疫公司》包含违法内容并将其在国内下架。当下形势业已完全超出我方掌控。我们将尽全力促成游戏重回中国。
