A petition started last week calling for game developer Rebel Inc. to add anti-vaxxers to Plague Inc., a game where players assume the role of a deadly pathogen intent on infecting the world’s populace. The anti-vaxxer movement would become a buff for the pathogen, making it easier to spread.
Rebel Inc. gave their support for the idea as the petition became more popular, officially endorsing it through a tweet from their official Twitter page on Feb. 24. They agreed to do it should the appeal reach 10,000 signatures. When it eventually did, the developers sent out another tweet saying they were going to work on including the concept into their main game.
Rebel Inc. gave no word on when players can expect the update, but when it arrives, the developers may include little feedback to their community explaining why these groups are so dangerous. Rebel Inc. has used its game’s popularity to raise awareness about anti-scientific movements in the past.
Alright, alright! You spoke, we listened. Neurie’s very happy to hear that we’re going to start figuring out anti-vaxxers soon. He’s dying to try and get inside their heads.
https://t.co/fYq09awgJc pic.twitter.com/Sof0aJE0yw
— Plague Inc. / Rebel Inc. (@NdemicCreations) February 26, 2019
Last year they included a new scenario in their Royal Update patch called Science Denial, where the populace’s trust in science had deteriorated to such an extreme point a single country chooses to house the world’s scientists to protect them as they figure out how to stop the rampaging pathogen before the whole world becomes infected.
You can expect to see the Anti-Vaxxer movement among the game’s list of scenarios in the future.
