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You only need to take a look at supermarket shelves to see the impact that the coronavirus has had on our behaviour.



But with much of the U.S. and Europe in lockdown, it appears the virus is also shifting the types of entertainment we’re seeking to distract ourselves with.



Data released from G2A.com, which is used by over 20 million gamers, revealed a significant shift in interest and demand surrounding the online gaming market in recent months.



During these challenging times, it’s no surprise that people are looking to video games for opportunities to stay connected and entertained.

(Image: Ndemic Creations)



The game trading platform reveals they saw a 200% increase in demand for games related to global epidemics and a 75% increase for survival games such as State of Decay and The Division 2, during the first months of 2020.



Plague Inc, which launched eight years ago, has seen the biggest increase (6100%) in popularity according to the online store.



It now has 130 million players worldwide.



The game simulates the spread of viruses and diseases and tasks the player with being the pathogen as the world responds to prevent deaths.



If it sounds familiar, it should – it’s the scenario that has been playing out on the news ever since the first cases of coronavirus began in China back in January.



“I think it's morbid curiosity,” says CEO and co-founder of G2A, Bartosz Skwarczek.



“The reason for the rise is because people are looking for information to better understand the complexity of the situation [we're in] and the viral outbreak that we have globally.

(Image: Ubisoft)



“Yet, while these games are built on some models and predictions, we should, of course, always remember that they are only games, they are not scientific models describing reality,” he adds.



Recently the game became embroiled in a real political drama, as sales of the game vastly increased in the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak in China, the Chinese government ordered its removal, claiming that the game “includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China”.



As a result, the real-time strategy simulation game now features a mode which lets you save the world instead of infecting it.



The new addition comes alongside the game’s creator Ndemic’s donation of $250,000 (£200,700) to help fight the COVID-19 epidemic around the world.



The studio split its donation between the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

(Image: Bartosz Skwarczek)





“Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc., or that so many players would be using Plague Inc. to help them get through an actual pandemic,” said Plague Inc. creator James Vaughan.



“We are proud to be able to help support the vital work of the WHO and CEPI as they work towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19.”



For hard-core gamers, social distancing measures have inevitably meant more time spent in front of consoles and PCs, but the shift in the type of games people across the globe have searched for since the outbreak suggests that not only regular gamers but an increasing number of casual or retired gamers are to blame for the recent spikes in demand.



According to G2A, the gaming market is seeing a comeback of the 90s-2000s classics as well.



“We're seeing parents being brought by their kids to play with them and we're seeing adults who haven't played for many years, but now being stuck at home, are getting back to the hobbies that they had many years ago.



“For me personally, that was kind of surprising,” says Skwarczek.



The website reported an 851% increase in searches for old-school titles such as Worms Armageddon and Age of Empires between January and March.



But the Polish entrepreneur was quick to point out that he was mindful the current trends may not last.



“I don't expect to have such a huge interest all the time of course, on the contrary, I expect to have a kind of correction for a few weeks when the lockdown is over.



“People are going to want to go back to the parks, to the cinemas, to meet friends, to restaurants and I expect that in this time there will be a little correction with playing games.



“But the general trend will still be higher than in the past.”