Online gaming platforms have seen a surge in demands as the coronavirus spreads, prompting several governments to limit the movement of billions of people worldwide.
In the United Kingdom, approximately 37 million of its population play games, that’s why major game developers in the country have decided to utilize gaming to disseminate coronavirus-related messages through popular games.
Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Dirt Rally 2.0 and Sniper Elite 4 are among the games that will feature safety messages such as “”Stay home. Save lives.”
Jason Kingsley, the chief executive of Rebellion-one of the companies involved said he personally spoke to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ask about what they can possibly contribute to contain the deadly virus.
“A lot of people spend hundreds of hours in computer games…And in this case, we thought we could help society by reminding people of their obligations to others,” he said.
The gaming companies will use different techniques to display the advices aimed at convincing people, especially the youth, to stay indoors.
Rebellion said it will be inserting the message within the titles of its games Strange Brigade and Sniper Elite titles.
The interactive entertainment company, Activision Blizzard’s King, will display the “Stay at Home” message in its network of mobile games, including Candy Crush Saga. It has also donated more than 200 digital posters that it had booked, to carry coronavirus-related information.
The British government is encouraging different companies to participate in this joint effort to combat the coronavirus. Gaming firms that wish to feature the public messages may communicate with the concerned agency through enquiriesculture.gov.uk.
