A coronavirus game has been launched in China. The authorities of the country ordered her "daughter" ByteDance
On February 17, a game about coronavirus was released in the Tencent WeChat messenger. The project was developed by competitors — a subsidiary studio of ByteDance — and funded by the Chinese authorities.
What kind of project?
This is a mobile mini-game about the fight against coronavirus. Its original name translates as Battle of Pathogens (“battle of pathogens”).
The gameplay resembles the mobile Fruit Ninja from Halfbrick Studios. Only in Battle of Pathogens, the user shakes not fruits, but viruses. The latter can change and multiply, which increases the complexity of the game. The surviving viruses fall to the bottom of the screen, attack the player’s avatar, and his “temperature” rises. Medical masks and disinfectants help in the fight against infection.
What is its purpose?
The game was created by Ohayoo developer studio commissioned by the Haidian Media Department in Beijing and in collaboration with the government publication People’s Daily. The Battle of Pathogens, according to the authorities, has two goals.
- The first is the prevention of coronavirus. The game is designed to convey to users tips on how not to get infected with a dangerous disease. Useful information about this appears at the end of each level.
- The second is stress relief. Now millions of Chinese are sitting at home while the authorities are trying to localize and eliminate the virus.
By the way, being locked up, citizens spend more time and money on games. In recent weeks, developers have seen an increase in metrics in Chinese online games, writes the South China Morning Post. Also, according to App Annie, the pandemic—themed game Plague Inc. is the most downloaded paid app in the Chinese iOS store since the end of January.
How is the project distributed?
Battle of Pathogens is now available on Tencent’s WeChat. (The Chinese giant itself refused to comment on the appearance of a game from the “daughter” of ByteDance in its ecosystem, the publication writes.)
Soon the title will appear in ByteDance’s own networks. This is the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, Douyin, and the Toutiao news platform. It is also planned to launch a separate application. The exact timing is unknown.
Recall that ByteDance is being talked about as a competitor to Tencent. The authors of TikTok are preparing large-scale game releases, buying studios, and recently appointed their own top manager to the gaming direction.
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