Developer Ndemic Creations has just announced the release of the update The cure (already with a Portuguese version) for its famous game Plague Inc. – free! The new mode, as well as the classic game, are available for Android and iOS until pandemic end. The update should arrive for consoles and PC “soon”.

For those who don't know, in Plague Inc. the player must create a deadly virus and create conditions for it to spread throughout the world and wipe out humanity. In The Cure mode, the player must implement measures to try to control a virus while scientists research a vaccine. To stop the virus, the player must perform tasks such as funding research, instructing the population to wash their hands, declaring quarantine and promoting global collaboration.

Ndemic Creations even worked with the World Health Organization and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to create The Cure. The idea was to achieve a realistic reflection of what it takes to deal with a global pandemic, even if the game is not a “scientific simulation,” as the developer put it.

In Brutal (Hard) mode, for example, patients try to drink disinfectant to cure themselves, world leaders ignore science, and doctors are arrested for reporting outbreaks. Thank goodness it's fiction, right?

Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), believes that the free-to-play Plague Inc. game could be a great learning tool. “Games like Plague Inc. are an important means of educating and raising awareness, and can be used to show that the world needs to seriously address global health threats,” he said.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Engadget