The popular strategy game Plague Inc. lets you recreate a pandemic like that caused by the corona virus. Now there is a sequel in which you rebuild the world destroyed by the virus – because the first game came too close to reality.
What is Plague Inc? Plague Inc. is a 2012 strategy game for smartphones. In the game, your task is to wipe out the world’s population as a pandemic. You can choose one of seven different types of plagues. Included are viruses, fungi, parasites, but also nano-viruses and bio-weapons.
Plague Inc. is now no longer only available for mobile, but also via Steam for PC as Plague Inc.: Evolve. Now comes the direct successor, in which you are no longer on the side of the plague, but of the people.
Part of the reason for this, according to one developer, is how similar Plage Inc.’s gameplay has become to reality.
Plague Inc: The trailer for the launch of the strategy hit on Steam
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Because their game was so similar to the pandemic, there is now an optimistic build-up game
What are you doing in the sequel? After Inc. plays according to a Plague Inc. scenario after the pandemic has affected large parts of the world’s population. However, a few people survived the plague and you are now helping them survive and repopulate the earth.
You build branches, choose leaders, explore the environment and collect resources. There are cold winters standing in your way, but also zombie attacks that need to be fended off.
What does the developer say about After Inc.? In a report by Game File, Plague Inc. and After Inc. game designer James Vaughan talks about the games: Some people have been worried that our games can predict the future. He is probably alluding to the increased popularity of Plague Inc. during the Covid-19 pandemic (The New York Times; Paywall)
This influenced his game design decisions for After Inc.:
I tried to make a happier and more optimistic game this time. The world is lush and beautiful. The survivors have to survive difficult times, but they are alive and can rebuild everything. The only problem is the zombies, but that’s nothing that can’t be solved with a few nails on a baseball bat.
Vaughan was also asked whether it was a good idea to offer After Inc. for just under 2 euros in the app stores. Many other strategy games of this type, such as Bethesda’s Fallout Shelter, are free and financed through microtransactions.
In fact, the game designer is not sure whether the one-time price instead of free was the right decision:
No – absolutely not – it’s a big risk! The only reason we can even consider releasing a premium game is because we have our existing mainstays, Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc., who will help players find our games – and also show that There’s still an appetite for smart, challenging strategy games on mobile. Without the help of Plague Inc., every game would [von uns]no matter how good it is, very difficult to be noticed.
It remains to be seen whether After Inc. will be a similar success as its predecessor Plague Inc. After Inc. is currently available for 1.99 euros in the Apple App Store and the Google App Store. The game has already been announced for PC via Steam. It is scheduled to appear there in 2025.
If you generally enjoy strategy games, there are a whole range of games that you might like. If you would like to bridge the time until the PC release of After Inc., we have a few game suggestions for you. In our list you will find the 15 best strategy games for PC.