Coronavirus-themed game banned in China

A coronavirus-themed game has been blocked on Steam in China because of its politically motivated content.

In order to win Coronavirus Attack, players have to stop “selfish zombies” from escaping a country infected with the virus.

Players reported the game for using the same colour scheme as the Chinese flag, with virus-shaped animations in place of its stars.

The game has been inundated with negative reviews on Steam’s store.

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“A selfish-zombie virus has infected throughout the country,” reads the game’s description.

“The virus carriers are attempting to flee the country.

“Your purpose is to prevent the selfish zombie virus carriers from escaping and infecting the world.”

Players can also collect badges that include “Liberate Honk Kong” and “Taiwan is not in China”.

The creator behind the game, MythZ, told news site Abacus he had developed the project as a protest against the Chinese government.

He said he was unhappy with how it had handled the pandemic.

Some Steam users are calling for the game, which remains available in other countries, to be removed from the platform globally.

“Imagine making a game to joke about the pandemic situation around the world, using people’s death for entertainment,” said one player in a negative review.

Coronavirus Attack is not the first Steam game to be blocked in China.

Hugely popular simulation game Plague Inc. was blacklisted in March as the Covid-19 outbreak worsened.

The plague-themed game, which experienced a spike in popularity around the world in January, tasks players with creating their own pathogen to wipe out the human race.

Some players at the time suggested they were downloading the game as a way to cope with fears surrounding the virus.