Top 10 Worst Plagues In Gaming History

Disease has afflicted mankind for much of its history here on Earth, killing huge swaths of the population with plagues like the Bubonic Plague and the Black Death during the middle ages, and more recently with the Spanish flu and smallpox. Even more recently, SARS and the H1N1 virus have made news headlines and spiked fears that humanity could see a return to darker times—events which have prompted the media to create all manner of entertainment centered around these fears. 

Germs have been a vector for much of civilization’s march through less industrialized parts of the world, by killing or debilitating the inhabitants of these places and their ability to fight back. 

In this article, we take a look at 10 of the deadliest plagues that have ravaged virtual worlds, much as the Black Death tore through ours. 

In particular, you'll want to read about the Corrupted Blood Incident, which inspired several real-world studies from scientists. Read on to find out about the worst plagues in gaming history. 

10. The Plague of Undeath - Warcraft III, World of Warcraft

In an effort to clear the path for the Burning Legion to invade, the Lich King Ner'zhul - acting under the instruction of one of the Burning Legion's demonic overlords Kil'jaeden - created a disease that would kill all who were afflicted by it, only to revive them in a new form that was neither living or dead - the Plague of Undeath. The purpose of this affliction was to forge the Scourge, essentially an army of undead warriors that would clear the way for the Burning Legion's eventual invasion of Azeroth.

Utilizing the services of Kel'Thuzad, a former mage of the Kirin Tor, Ner'zhul - as the Lich King - was able to disperse the plague within the very heart of the kingdom of Lordaeron, spreading it via infected grain to the populace. Victims afflicted by the plague would die within three days, returning to 'life' as mindless undead under the control of the Lich King.

An event for World of Warcraft revolving around the Plague of Undeath was created by the game's developers to promote the impending release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack. 

9. Las Plagas - Resident Evil 4

Las Plagas is a parasitic organism that affects a variety of hosts, including humans and animals, that induces a hive-like mentality into the minds of the afflicted subjects. Afflicted individuals then display extreme hostility towards any uninfected creatures. 

However unlike most zombie type viruses, the Las Plagas virus does not debilitate a human by affecting their fine motor skills, and even allows them to manipulate complicated weapons. Much like ants and bees, those afflicted follow the orders of a ‘Queen’ parasite. 

8. Green Flu - Left 4 Dead

Referred to simply as “The Infection” by the characters in the game, the Green Flu caused most afflicted humans to turn into rabid, zombie-like creatures. A few individuals afflicted by a mutated form of the disease turned into even weirder, superhuman zombies. 

However, a few people are immune to the symptoms of the virus despite being carriers. The survivors of the game, Left 4 Dead, and its sequel, are suspected to be carriers who turned those they came into contact with into mindless zombies. 

Research to combat the viral outbreak can be seen at various points in the game, showing humanity’s (losing) fight against the disease. 

7. Rat Plague - Dishonored

Destroying almost half the population of the city of Dunwall, the Rat Plague originated from the mysterious continent of Pandyssia. 

Victims of the plague, which is spread by rats, can apply a cure to themselves with Sokolov’s Health Elixir, which was researched well after the plague had already left its mark upon the city. However, once the subject exhibits the symptoms of bleeding from the nose or eyes, the disease becomes incurable. These individuals are called “weepers”, due to the symptoms.  

6. The Blight - Dragon Age

The Blight is a disease spread by the Darkspawn, evil creatures from the underworld. The disease corrupts living organisms—e.g. people—by corrupting their blood and eventually causing them to go insane. 

The longer an afflicted individual stays alive, the more the disease manifests in symptoms like hair loss, aggressive behavior, and numerous deformities. 

5. Genophage - Mass Effect

The Genophage was a disease engineered by the Salarians to control the population of the warlike race of Krogan. Designed to severely reduce population numbers by infecting the species with genetic mutations the disease served to cause stillbirth in most Krogan pregnancies except for a very lucky few. 

4. Gray Death - Deus Ex

The Gray Death was manufactured using nanotechnology by an organization known as Majestic-12. A hybrid (cyborganic) disease of biological and mechanical structure, the virus is based on the lethal effects of implementing nanotechnology to an unmodified human body that then rejects the mechanical elements of the virus. 

Its creation was devised to rid the already overpopulated world of its poorer inhabitants and provide a vaccine in limited quantities to only those able to pay for treatment. 

3. T-Virus - Resident Evil

One of the most well known and popular examples of a fictional disease is the "t-virus" from the classic survival horror game Resident Evil, known simply as Biohazard in Japan. The t-virus serves as the catalyst for the numerous zombie outbreaks that place in the series, possessing mutagenic properties that enable it to rapidly transform organisms. 

The origins for the t-virus date back to 1966, when an expeditionary team led by Oswell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford and James Marcus discovered an ancient retrovirus embedded within a rare species of flower. Upon further research, this retrovirus was reverse engineered to form the basis for what would become the t-virus. 

Throughout the 1960s, Oswell Spencer conducted a number of ruthless experiments on human test subjects with the virus, with the grandiose vision of using its potential to create a race of superior human beings, which he himself would rule over as its leader. However, the strain would prove to be incredibly virulent, resulting in high mortality rates and in most cases leading to a state of living undeath in its victims.

2. Forced Evolutionary Virus - Fallout 

FEV is largely responsible for a large number of mutations in the world of Fallout, which wasn’t—contrary to popular belief—caused by simple radiation. Originally known as the Pan-Immunity Viron Project, FEV was a pre-nuclear war research effort to give the United States an edge in their war effort against China. 

In the post-apocalyptic world, FEV was harnessed by an individual named Richard Grey—also known as the Master—to create his army of super mutants, as well as a host of other bizarre monstrosities that inhabit the Wasteland. 

1. Corrupted Blood - World of Warcraft

In 2005, an event known as the “Corrupted Blood Incident” erupted in World of Warcraft after players discovered that a debuff spell cast by Hakkar in the raid dungeon of Zul’gurub, which caused players to lose health over time, would work outside of the dungeon for which it was intended.

Though originally intended to only last a few seconds, and only within the dungeon, the debuff spread to other characters within the game’s most populated zones like Orgrimmar, Ironforge and Stormwind City—causing players who caught the debuff to either flee the area, thus spreading it to even more players with whom they came into contact with, or deliberately infect others.

The event inspired scientists to look at the game’s virtual world and served as a new place to conduct research on how people behaved during the event.