This page is meant to show references to other media in Plague Inc..
List
App Store/Google Play Store description:
- Contagion guaranteed - Reference to the 2011 film Contagion.
- Outbreak management - Reference to Outbreak
- I am Legendarily helpful - Reference to I Am Legend.
- 12 Monkeys? - Reference to Twelve Monkeys.
- 28 Saves Later! - Reference to 28 Days Later.
- Pandemic evolved - Reference to Pandemic 2, an inspiration of Plague Inc. itself. It could also mean Plague Inc: Evolved.
Scenarios:
- Xenophobia - The description ends with On a positive note, border guards get to shout 'You Shall Not Pass...', which is a memorable quote made by Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
- Teleportation - The icon features Earth traveling through a blue portal and exiting an orange one. This is a reference to the colours of the portals in the video game Portal, and its sequel, Portal 2.
- Santa's Little Helper - One of the headlines in involves a kid being arrested for gravely injuring 2 robbers, which is a reference to the first and second Home Alone movie.
- Nipah Virus - Part of the description reads "...resulting in a Contagion worthy of Hollywood." The fact that the word "Contagion" is capitalized along with the mention of Hollywood is a reference to the 2011 film Contagion because the Nipah Virus inspired the movie's MEV-1 virus. There are also various other references to the movie as well:
- Lude Jaw claims Nipah cure - Reference to Jude Law, the actor of Alan Krumweide in Contagion. The fact that he claims a homeopathic cure along with the ensuing riots is a reference to when Alan claims a MEV-1 cure derived from forsythia. Riots in pharmacies ensue, and Alan is arrested. Completing this string of events results in the achievement Who Needs Science?
- Nipah film announced - Reference to the entire Contagion movie. Evolving Memory Loss after this results in the achievement Contagion Cancelled.
News Headlines:
- Pylons "vital to high tech society" - Most likely a reference to the well-known phrase from Starcraft, "You must construct additional pylons!" (Pylons are energy structures that provide core supply for your army in the game for one of the races in the game, the Protoss)
- Gangnam Style rewritten as major Broadway musical. - In reference to Gangnam Style, a viral music video with many parodies on YouTube.
- Creeper executed for destruction of virtual property - Reference to the indie game Minecraft, a sandbox game where the point of the game is to survive. The "Creeper" is named after the green monster of the same name which causes destruction by exploding.
- Typewriting monkeys produce copy of Shakespeare - Reference to Infinite monkey theorem.
- Top notch mine opens in Sweden - Yet another reference to the game Minecraft. Notch is the nickname of Markus Persson, one of the founders of Mojang where Minecraft was created. The Top Notch is a hat created and given to Markus in a game called Team Fortress 2. Additionally, Mojang's headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Portals make infinite cake possible - A reference to the game Portal from the Teleportation scenario.
- xml..3rror//?$-the cake is a lie !& $HutDOWn - A second reference to Portal. Appears at the same time as Portals make infinite cake possible.
- Valve Time slower than thought - Likely a joke at the video game company Valve, due to their lengthy game development times (see development hell), and "Valve Time" meaning how Valve's timing is very far off. In addition, it says "Researchers have calculated that it takes longer than expected for radioactive fluids with a half-life of 3 years to pass through valves. Reason unknown", which is a clear reference to the third title of the Half-Life series, which is yet to be developed (and is highly demanded by the community). There is a running joke that "Valve can't count to 3" (none of their games have ever had their third title released, even though they have all had plenty of time to be made).
- Justin Bibble trampled by fans - Reference to Justin Bieber.
- 'Crazy Dave' convicted of Garden Centre robbery - Reference to Crazy Dave from Plants vs. Zombies. Unlike Crazy Dave from the actual Plants vs. Zombies, the "Crazy Dave" on Plague Inc. steals plants.
- Machine-gun powered jetpack banned over safety concern - Reference to Jetpack Joyride where the first jet pack received is the machine gun jetpack.
- Major filesharing website banned - Reference to the Megaupload website being seized by the FBI on January 19, 2012.
- Giant whale sinks fishing boat - Could be a reference to Moby Dick.
- Temple bans Running over incident with monkey - A reference to the iOS game Temple Run, where the goal is to run through a course to escape from demon monkeys.
- Kickstopper raises record amount of money - A reference to the Kickstarter website.
- Plague simulator game goes viral - A reference to the game itself.
- Major intelligence leak stuns world - A reference to Edward Snowden.
- FTL developer sued over "permadeath" emotional trauma - A reference to the indie game FTL: Faster than Light, which uses a permadeath mechanic.
- New console admits to "always on" power requirement - A reference to the Xbox One console and its "always on" mode.
- Gamers worldwide worshipping helix fossil - This is actually a reference within a reference. It is a reference to a cult-following/meme that arose out of the experiment known as Twitch plays Pokémon; the meme itself is a parallel and reference to the Magic Conch Shell from Spongebob.
- Goat union demands royalties from game dev - A reference to the game Goat Simulator.
- Zynga looking to buy Clash of Clans - A reference to Supercell, the developers of Clash of Clans making more money than Zynga.
- Kim Shardakian buys new "Pugapoo'" dog (Nipah Virus only) - Reference to Kim Kardashian. If the plague is deadly enough, it will kill Kim's dog and earn the achievement Call PETA.
- Pandemic danger exaggerated - A reference and possible Take That to the original Pandemic.
- People told to await their Destiny - Reference to the recent Destiny video game.
- Mass Panic over 3D printed robotic juicer - Reference to Penny Arcade's "Fruit F*cker", a small, humanoid, robotic juicer which does exactly that.
- Woman disappears after entering police box with 'Strange man' - Reference to Doctor Who, a popular TV series.
- Swedish Miner freed by Microsoft. Rides into sunset - A third reference to Minecraft. This one is a reference to Microsoft buying Minecraft in 2014.
- Disrespectful funeral-goer forgot to press x - reference to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, where the player has to press X to "Pay Respects".
- Dancing twig in pot is best-selling Christmas gift- a reference to the end of Guardians Of The Galaxy, and the real-life toy dancing baby Groot.
- Portals make infinite cake possible (Teleportation only) - Reference to the in-game prize for completing all the test chambers in the game Portal, as well as the popular meme spawned from it, "The cake is a lie".
- Adventurer 'faked' arrow to the knee trauma - A reference to the adventure game Skyrim.
- Insurance company aims to reclaim Millennium Falcon payout - A reference to the Millennium Falcon from the popular movie series Star Wars.
- Miami police establish hotline to find killer - Refence to the video game Hotline Miami.
- Priest claims meteors to destroy earth in 4042 - Reference to Homestuck.
Achievements:
- I Never Asked For This - This is a direct quote from the protagonist of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
- Assuming Direct Control - A reference to the Harbinger from Mass Effect 2.
- Insane Bolt - Reference to Usain Bolt himself. He is Jamaican and is considered the fastest in the world
- It's a Trap! - Reference to Admiral Ackbar's famous quote from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The achievement in Plague Inc. involves wiping out the Giza expedition.
- Patient Who? - Reference to Doctor Who, a popular TV series. The achievement in Plague Inc. involves preventing the CDC from finding patient zero.
- Gill Bates - A reference to Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.
- I'll Be Back - a reference to the famous quote by the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Tank, Spitter, and Boomer achievements- A reference to special infected zombies from Left 4 Dead franchise
- Ape's Creed - a reference to Assassins Creed
- Batmobile and Dark Knight achievements - A reference to the Batman franchise.
- STALKERs delight - A reference to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.
- GLaDOS Says Hi - A reference to Portal.
Other:
- The ZCOM organization in the Necroa Virus DLC is a reference to XCOM (Extraterrestrial Combat Unit).