The epidemic-style game developed by UK developer NDemic Creations titled 'Plague Inc.' has been wildly popular since the coronavirus outbreak. It's a game that's been on the market for 8 years. Yet due to a request from the Chinese government, Apple promptly removed the game from their App Store.

The players of this game are to engineer a super virus with the end goal of wiping out the human race. Now iPhone owners can no longer download or update the game on the iOS App Store in mainland China.

Those who already own the game and try to update it in China are presented with an alert that reads, "Plague Inc. is no longer available. Developers have removed the game app from the App Store."

Below is the full statement from NDemic Creations about the removal of Plague Inc from Apple's App Store in China.

"We have some very sad news to share with our China based players. We've just been informed that Plague Inc. "includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China" and has been removed from the China App Store. This situation is completely out of our control.

Plague Inc. is a huge critical and commercial success. Eight years old and with over 130 million players, it’s the #1 strategy/simulation game worldwide and has been the most popular paid game in China for many years. Plague Inc. stands out as an intelligent and sophisticated simulation that encourages players to think and learn more about serious public health issues. We have a huge amount of respect for our Chinese players and are devastated that they are no longer able to access and play Plague Inc.

It’s not clear to us if this removal is linked to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that China is facing. However, Plague Inc.’s educational importance has been repeatedly recognized by organisations like the CDC and we are currently working with major global health organisations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19.

We are working very hard to try and find a way to get the game back in the hands of Chinese players - we don’t want to give up on you - however, as a tiny independent games studio in the UK, the odds are stacked against us. Our immediate priority is to try and make contact with the Cyberspace Administration of China to understand their concerns and work with them to find a resolution.

Nothing is changing outside of mainland China: we will continue to support and update both Plague Inc. and our newest game Rebel Inc. on all platforms whilst also working hard to try and find a way to bring Plague Inc. back to players in China.

We will share more information about our efforts to support the fight against COVID-19 soon."

The game is still available on the App Store outside of China and you could take a quick peek of it it here.