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Plague Inc.’s Simian Flu update was a licensed tie-in to 20th Century Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, not conventional in-game product placement. Released in July 2014, it turned the film’s fictional virus into a playable expansion: players spread disease among humans while helping apes grow more intelligent, form colonies and survive.
What the Simian Flu update added
The expansion introduced the Simian Flu, a fictional genetically modified virus from the Planet of the Apes story. In the film’s world, it originates at a Gen-Sys laboratory. In the game, it threatens humans while also increasing ape intelligence—a premise that gave the scenario two populations and two linked survival problems.
![Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51T-WVI+J4L._SL160_.jpg)
Ndemic Creations developed the update in partnership with 20th Century Fox to promote Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The studio and game developer framed it as a way to explore the film’s ideas through a global disease simulation, rather than simply adding a movie logo or changing the game’s look. Ndemic’s partnership announcement and its initial update announcement describe the licensed connection and fictional disease.
How the crossover changed play
A standard Plague Inc. scenario centers on evolving a disease and spreading it around the world. Simian Flu kept that human-pandemic framework but added an ape population the player also had to develop and protect.
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- Human infection: The player still evolves and spreads a disease through human populations.
- Ape-to-ape transmission: Apes can pass the virus among themselves, connecting the pandemic to the rise of the apes.
- Intelligence: Evolution can increase ape cognitive abilities, making their development part of the scenario rather than a side effect.
- Colonies: Intelligent apes can establish communities that generate DNA and help them avoid detection.
- Migration: Moving apes can reduce the risk of discovery or experimentation.
- Research-lab attacks: Ape populations can attack facilities studying or trying to control them.
Those systems create a strategic tension: investing in ape intelligence and survival competes with evolving transmission or lethality, while killing humans too quickly can leave less time for apes to grow and organize. The player therefore balances concealment, migration, infection, intelligence and aggression instead of pursuing only the fastest human outbreak.
Why the film and game fit together
The partnership had a close thematic link. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes builds on a disease-related origin for the apes’ rise; Plague Inc. is itself a simulation of disease spreading across the globe. Simian Flu let players interact with that fictional biology and social upheaval, extending the film’s premise into a game system rather than using the game merely as an advertising surface.
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Ndemic’s announcement also noted a connection to the franchise’s earlier film: creator James Vaughan said watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes had helped inspire Plague Inc. The specific licensed promotion, however, was for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Release dates: the July 10 report and July 17 launch notice
Droid Life published its report on July 10, 2014, describing the game as updated with “movie product placement.” Ndemic’s official “out now” announcement is dated July 17, 2014, so July 10 is the secondary article’s publication date, not the best-supported official launch date. The original report is available at Droid Life; Ndemic’s launch notice is dated July 17 in its official announcement.
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- Generations in the future following Caesar?s reign, apes are living harmoniously as the dominant species ? and humans are living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
How it was sold—and why “free update” needs context
The feature arrived through game updates, but access to the Simian Flu expansion was not the same on every platform. Ndemic’s pre-launch announcement said mobile players would get a free trial, followed by a $1.99 in-app purchase. It also said the expansion would be free for players who owned the Plague Pack or had completed the full game on Brutal difficulty. For Plague Inc: Evolved on PC and Mac, Ndemic said the update would be free through Steam.
The 2014 Droid Life article instead gave an approximate price of $2.12. That conflicts with Ndemic’s official $1.99 figure, which is the stronger source for the announced U.S. price at the time. Neither historical amount establishes what a player will pay today.
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![Planet of the Apes 4-movie Collection 2011-2024 (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes + War for the Planet of the Apes + Dawn of the Planet of the Apes + Rise of the Planet of the Apes) [Blu-ray] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NLDJBGlrL._SL160_.jpg)
- Planet of the Apes 4-movie Collection 2011-2024 (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes + War for the Planet of the Apes + Dawn of the Planet of the Apes + Rise of the Planet of the Apes) [Blu-ray] [Region Free]
- Includes 4 Films (2011-2024) – Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Region-Free Blu-ray – Playable worldwide, no restrictions
- Stunning HD Quality – Experience breathtaking cinematography and intense action sequences in high definition
- Immersive Audio – Enhanced sound for a cinematic experience
Ndemic’s pre-release details on price, trial and platform differences are in its announcement ahead of launch.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Platforms, languages and current availability
Ndemic’s July 17 launch notice lists iOS, Android, PC and Mac, with the desktop versions associated with Plague Inc: Evolved. Its partnership announcement said an Xbox One edition was planned for the future; that wording does not establish that the console version was available on launch day. The original localization announcement listed English, Japanese, Korean, simplified and traditional Chinese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Treat that as the 2014 list, not a complete statement of current language support.
Current store listings are a separate matter from the original launch terms. The U.S. Apple App Store listing surfaces Simian Flu as an expansion, but store prices and availability may vary by country, device and date. The Google Play listing identifies the game as containing ads and in-app purchases; it does not provide a dependable current Simian Flu price in the listing information cited here. The 2014 announcement also cannot guarantee that every current edition or store includes identical content.
What the early numbers do—and do not—show
Shortly after release, Ndemic reported that more than 2 million Simian Flu games had been played. That is a developer-reported number of games played, not an independently audited count of unique players or sales. In its later 2014 retrospective, Ndemic called the partnership one of the year’s major developments and described the game’s App Store performance in positive terms; those are the developer’s own characterizations, not independent market analysis.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
