History of Plague Inc.

This article covers the version history of Plague Inc., aka "mutation". Info on the updates can be found on the official website.

History

May 26, 2012 (Mutation 1.0)

• Stunning retina graphics with a highly polished interface (Contagion guaranteed)
• Full Save/Load functionality (28 Saves Later!)
• Highly detailed, hyper-realistic world with advanced AI (Outbreak management)
• Comprehensive in-game help and tutorial system (I am Legendarily helpful)
• 10 different disease types with radically different strategies to master (10 Monkeys?)
• 50+ countries to infect, hundreds of traits to evolve, thousands of world events to adapt to (Pandemic evolved)
• Game Center and OpenFeint support for scoreboards and achievements

May 31, 2012 (Mutation 1.1)

• Universal for iPad – now a fully functioning iPad app which looks truly awesome!
• Stability enhancements – Eliminated the crashes that some players were experiencing. Also added auto-save function.
• Game balance – re-balanced casual and normal difficulty slightly
• Message control setting – Can disable help + story messages if you want
• Evolution options. Evolution traits are now grayed out if you can’t afford them to help select them
• And many other game AI / balance / performance /control enhancements (e.g. when governments collapse – the country no longer benefits from their policies)

June 12, 2012 (Mutation 1.2)

• New events and achievements (e.g. global warming, anarchist bombs and economic meltdown)
• Major performance upgrade – e.g. fixes unlock + stability issues on iPad 1 and iPod 4
• iCloud synchronization - keep your unlocked disease types on multiple devices
• Accelerated Unlock – Option to pay to unlock diseases faster if you don’t want to play properly :P
• And many other game balance / AI / interface improvements

August 24, 2012 (Mutation 1.3)

• Modify genetic code: The ability to tweak your genetic code prior to playing – this will let you customise your play style (e.g. You can insert a gene which means you don’t need to pop bubbles or one that gives you bonus DNA at the start) Still fine-tuning the details but currently, you will unlock a random gene each time you play a game and there will be 25 to collect in total.
• The Neurax Worm – this is a terrifying new Plague type which will require all new tactics to win. I'm really excited about this as I have basically redesigned the gameplay from scratch. It will have new graphics, new events, new victory conditions and a very different playstyle. (I view this as a mini-expansion pack so it will cost 99c to play with this plague)

October 25, 2012 (Mutation 1.4)

• Genetic Modification now possible – discover genes as you play and insert them into your genetic code. Customize your play style by giving your plague strengths, weaknesses and all-new capabilities
• Plague Inc. is now available in German. It will detect your language automatically (or you can change the language manually in settings (More languages coming soon!)
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Full iOS 6 compatibility – can now share your plague with friends via Twitter/Facebook
• Minor game balance / AI improvements

(Note: old saves will not work with the update)

March 3, 2013 (Mutation 1.5)

• Special Necroa Virus plague type added, an aggressive, unknown virus with ‘extreme regenerative abilities’.
  1. Prepare for a new, apocalyptic challenge with radical new gameplay, strategy, evolutions and graphics.
  2. Use active abilities like ‘Zombie Horde’ in the battle against Z Com – humanity’s last defense against the dead!
  3. Customise your Necroa Virus with 5 new genes
• Key user interface enhancements:
  1. New population percentage bar helps you see the status of a country.
  2. DNA animation now shows how much DNA you are collecting.
• Plague Inc. is now available in Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. It will detect your language automatically (or you can change language manually in settings (More languages coming soon!)
• New events, news and achievements – can you discover the origin of the Necroa Virus
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix

July 15, 2013 (Mutation 1.6)

• Speed Runs
  1. How quickly can you kill the world? Speed Run mode challenges you to beat the game as quickly as possible and lets you compare your record against friends
  2. Time Changes Everything. In order to eradicate the world quickly - you will have to explore radically different strategies to give an edge over the pesky humans
  3. Be the QuaranTIME champion. Disease specific global leaderboards on GameCenter and Facebook let you show off your strategies to the world and challenge friends
• CDC content
  1. In March - the CDC invited James Vaughan to meet them and talk about the models of infection in Plague Inc.
  2. There are now official CDC news headlines inside the game as well as an in-game story where the CDC tracks down Patient Zero.
• Rebalanced the NAZG achievement for all the rabid fans out there :P
• Governments can now shut down internet / mobile networks in times of panic
• Lots of new events, news and achievements including a new Necroa Virus origin story
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix
• BETA: See how many people you can infect with the new "Infect a Friend" button Added - Speed Run mode and CDC

November 25, 2013 (Mutation 1.7)

• Scenarios significantly increase the amount of content for players – giving them new challenges and experiences which will test their skills to the limit. There are two main types of scenario:
  1. Real life diseases – begin the game with fully evolved, real life pathogens like the Black Death, Swine flu or HIV. Players can model how an outbreak would happen in real life as well as mutating the pathogen to try and get it to infect the whole world.
  2. Alternative universes – choose a pathogen to infect a world that has been impacted by something like a US Debt default, an outbreak of xenophobia or a new mini ice age. Players can see how different events can shape the ability of the world to respond to global pandemics and work out how to best exploit the new conditions.
• Example scenarios:
  1. Sovereign Default: A failure to extend the debt ceiling in the US triggers a major financial crisis - causing significant economic damage and reducing the wealth of countries all over the world.
  2. Black Death: Patient Zero is infected with a previously dormant strain of Yersinia pestis. Humanity must face a bacterium that has been hidden for centuries - previously killing over 200 million people.
  3. Xenophobia: A rapid increase in hostility towards foreigners causes all countries to heavily fortify their land borders - significantly reducing the amount of cross border land traffic worldwide.
• Release date and price:
  1. November (iOS), November/December(Android)
  2. There will be 15 scenarios on release with more to come in future updates.
• 2 scenarios will be free. An individual scenario will cost $0.99 or "All Scenarios" can be brought together for $2.99. Buying "All Scenarios" will also include all scenarios that are released in the future.

April 22, 2014 (Mutation 1.8)

• "Mega-Brutal" difficulty – for players who thought Brutal was Casual! - Experience Plague Inc.'s toughest challenge yet and try to infect a world with random medical checks, genetic drift and research tech improvements. Adapt or die…
• Mega new Cheat Modes – 3 new cheat modes are added which will all give you very different Plague Inc. experiences.
  1. Shuffle Strain: All evolutions are mixed up
  2. Turbo Strain: Starting country is 100% infected
  3. Lucky Dip Strain: Start with 5 random evolutions
• Use cheats on any plague type (and even combine different cheat modes!)
• New Scenarios – 4 new scenarios give players brand new challenges from infecting the world with a 30,000 year old virus through to surviving in a world with artificial organs.
• New events and achievements
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix

July 18, 2014 (Mutation 1.9)

• This is a major expansion pack update for Plague Inc. The Simian Flu is a genetically modified virus created in a Gen-Sys lab. It has been found to increase intelligence in apes, but mutates rapidly and is untested on humans...
  1. Experience Planet of the Apes on a global scale - See how humanity responds as you infect the world with a lethal, artificial virus. Can they handle a global pandemic while dealing with a growing nation of genetically evolved, intelligent apes?
  2. Control communities of intelligent apes – As well as infecting humans, evolve your disease in parallel to allow ape-to-ape transmission and improve their cognitive abilities. Ape colonies will generate DNA whilst helping apes avoid detection from humans.
  3. For one species to rise, another must fall? – Master new gameplay mechanics and strategies to help apes become the dominant species on the planet. Decide when your apes should rampage against research labs, move apes to avoid detection from military drones and use ape migration to prevent scientists from conducting aggressive ape experiments.

December 17, 2014 (Mutation 1.10)

• Special Christmas Scenario - Infect the World with Happiness! Boring governments have banned holidays, laughter and celebrations. Luckily, the Neurax Worm has teamed up with Santa and is determined to infect the whole world with joy and happiness.
• Teleportation scenario - Highly advanced technology has created the opportunity to travel through a portal and teleport to other countries. Where will they go?
• New Progress Screen - Just how good at Plague Inc. are you? See your completion % and complete challenges to become a Plague Inc. master!
• Major gameplay update to core disease types following player feedback, particularly Parasite, Prion and the Neurax Worm, as well as upgraded human AI, making life more difficult for any potential world-ending pathogen
• Improved starting country selection, updated the world population and added lots of new Simian Flu achievements
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix

January 25, 2016 (Mutation 1.11)

• Plague School - New to the game or want to learn strategies for some of the more exotic disease types? The brand new tutorial has your back. Enroll in the Infectious Disease School to learn the genetic strategies needed to infect the world!
• Double Strain Cheat - How will the world handle two Patient Zeroes? Start your plague off in two countries at once with this brand new cheat
• Improved some government AI response routines at higher difficulty levels
• Enhanced Particle Graphics - Bubbles now explode even more satisfyingly when you pop them!
• Extra News Headlines - Including headlines submitted by Plague Inc. players!
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix

April 22, 2016 (Mutation 1.12)

• Custom Scenarios - loads of new diseases and worlds made by Plague Inc. fans! Rebuild society after a devastating plague, infect all of humanity with Rabies, or even take over the world with Fridges!
• Random Name Generator - Tens of thousands of witty, dramatic, weird and wonderful names for your precious disease. Each one hand-crafted for you by our custom built PlagueBot!
• Longer disease names - as requested by millions of players, your disease name can now be 33% longer!
• Performance improvements for all devices
• Minor game balance / AI improvements / bug fix

October 25, 2016 (Mutation 1.13)

• New Shadow Plague expansion pack:
  1. Consume humanity - Feed carefully to grow in power and transform into a monstrous bat to strategically set up lairs and shadow portals.
  2. Emerge from the Shadows - Create slaves to worship your vampire and use Blood Rage to defeat the Templar who hunt your vampire as well as the WHO who seek to eradicate your pathogen
  3. Cover the world in darkness - Master unique gameplay mechanics and strategies to help your vampire rule the world!
• Added a number of BREXIT events into the simulation. Once the results of the referendum are declared - the player can use their disease to help influence the path the UK takes - creating conditions to allow a soft or hard Brexit - or even a terrifying 'brutal' Brexit. For people who would rather not leave the EU - there is also the possibility to turn back time and keep the UK inside the union instead!

April 28, 2017 (Mutation 1.14)

• Added the Plague Inc: Scenario Creator app on iOS and Android.

November 16, 2017 (Mutation 1.15)

• Added three new scenarios: Mad Cow Disease, Where Is Everyone? and Flight Club, totalling the number of scenarios to 23.

June 5, 2018 (Mutation 1.16)

• Infectious new interface
• New Ultimate Board Games scenario
• New Science Denial scenario

December 5, 2019 (Mutation 1.17)

• New Fake News scenario.

November 1, 2020 (Mutation 1.18)

• New Cure Mode

Notes

• In Febrary 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China deleted Plague Inc. from Apple's App Store & Steam.