It is most-likely that the boost in the game's popularity was caused by the spread of the coronavirus across China and several other countries, including the United States and Australia. Dozens of people have died and thousands more are infected.In a statement, Ndemic Creations declared that “Plague Inc has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks.”However, the company warns that, while the game is very realistic, players should rely on local and global health authorities to receive information on the virus. “Remember that Plague Inc is a game, not a scientific model, and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people," they said.Our website is currently offline due to very high player numbers. I'm copying our statement on the coronavirus outbreak here so people can still see it.https://t.co/pA6CUS7nJI pic.twitter.com/StXP6aemDe
— Plague Inc. / Rebel Inc. (@NdemicCreations) January 24, 2020