Coronavirus-themed game pulled from Steam in China Coronavirus Attack developed in protest against Chinese government

Haydn Taylor Senior Staff Writer Wednesday 29th April 2020 Share this article Share

The Chinese government has blocked a coronavirus-themed game from Steam because of its political motivations.

Developed by MythZ, Coronavirus Attack sees players trying to stop "self zombies" from leaving a country infected with the virus.

While the game itself doesn't directly name China, it references the nation's flag with virus-shaped animations instead of stars.

It also features a number of achievements such as "Liberate Hong Kong" and "Taiwan is not China" -- a reference to how Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games saw its PC horror title Devotion removed from Steam for containing an art asset which described China's president for life Xi Jinping as "Winnie the Pooh moron."

"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."

Speaking with Abacus, MythZ said that Coronavirus Attack is a protest against the Chinese government, and criticizes those who left Wuhan -- the city where COVID-19 was first reported -- before the lockdown.

The Coronavirus Attack ban comes just months after pandemic simulator Plague Inc. was removed from the Chinese App Store following a surge in popularity during the early stages of the outbreak.