When seeking inspiration for a bleak future, it is perhaps only natural that video game developers would look to the tragedies of humanity's past. Many might see this as being a little morbid, but when the aim is to shock or scare the player, there's little doubt that the past can provide some horrifying source material.
What makes a video game outbreak such a terrifying experience is the player's knowledge that similar outbreaks have occurred. Sure, video games often embellish or exaggerate – but rarely are they completely beyond the realms of possibility. While the earth remains zombie free for the moment, history shows that we'd be fools to dismiss the possibility outright.
10 Syphon Filter (Syphon Filter)
The Syphon Filter virus can be genetically programmed to target anyone or anything, making it the perfect bio-weapon. Naturally then, there's a fairly long list of groups and countries hoping to get their hands on it. The player's job is to stop them from doing so.
Although the virus only kills a handful of people throughout the events of the series, it's the virus' potential that makes its existence so alarming. If the player fails in their mission, the virus could be used to cause chaos across the globe. Whether through political assassinations or mass genocide, to say that the stakes are high would be a bit of an understatement.
9 Corrupted Blood (WoW)
The Corrupted Blood virus was added to the World of Warcraft back in 2005 as part of the Zul'Gurub raid. Although it was originally intended to last for just a few seconds & restricted to the raid area itself, a programming oversight allowed the virus to escape its confines and cause chaos right across the server.
Programmers enforced quarantines to help stem the virus' spread while many players simply logged off to await a fix. Although this fix did eventually come, it took nearly a month for Blizzard to fully quell the outbreak. Epidemiologists would later study the Corrupted Blood outbreak in order to gain insight into how a similar virus might spread in the real world.
8 Cordyceps (The Last Of Us)
The infected found in The Last of Us are some of the most terrifying in all of gaming. From the grotesque appearance of the stalkers to the chilling sounds made by the clickers, the enemies found throughout the game combine to create an incredibly daunting landscape for players to navigate and survive.
Perhaps the main reason that a Cordyceps outbreak is so harrowing though is that they're based on a family of fungus found in the real world. Granted, Cordyceps typically only affect insects, but it's easy to imagine a future where the endoparasitoids evolve to a point where they're able to infect humans as well. If and when this day comes, humanity will be in real trouble.
7 Green Poison (The Division)
Green Poison is a weaponized version of the deadly smallpox virus, which was responsible for the deaths of more than half a billion people before it was eradicated in 1977. It was engineered by Dr. Gordon Amherst, an insane virologist who was ultimately killed by his own creation. He may have been the first to succumb to the virus, but he was far from the last.
Before dying, Gordon circulated dollar bills contaminated with the virus in stores throughout New York. This lead to the infection and eventual deaths of around 90% of the city's population. Sometimes referred to as the dollar flu, it's this transmission method that gave the virus both of its names.
6 The Freaker Virus (Days Gone)
The Freaker Virus found in Days Gone causes severe mutations, eventually turning those infected into the game's Freakers. It spread across the globe after a would-be whistleblower became infected while attempting to steal a sample of the virus. From there, the virus went on to kill around a third of the world's population.
As with many video game viruses, what makes the Freaker Virus so scary is the transformation it causes. It's bad enough that survivors have to deal with the pain of loss that results from the mass casualties. In Days Gone, survivors must also live in fear of Freaker attacks and with the knowledge that their loved ones likely suffered a similar fate.
5 The Gray Death (Deus Ex)
The Gray Death was engineered by the evil VersaLife company in a bid to take over the world. It affects anybody without a predisposition to nanites and is one of the deadliest viruses in human history. Although infection begins with flu like symptoms, it almost invariably leads to death. With a mortality rate of 93%, the Gray Death is deadlier than the Ebola virus.
Thankfully, there is a working cure called Ambrosia. Unfortunately though, like the virus itself, the cure is manufactured by VersaLife. By intentionally keeping Ambrosia production to a minimum, VersaLife is able to use it as leverage in order to get powerful people to do its bidding. Those without money or influence are simply left to die.
4 Green Flu (Left 4 Dead)
The Green Flu virus is responsible for the chaos and carnage found in Valve's fantastic survival horror title Left 4 Dead. Unlike traditional viruses, Green Flu mutates rapidly, with its transmission method changing on a sometimes daily basis. Initially, the Civil Emergency and Defense Agency advised people to wash their hands in order to contain the virus. In spite of this however, Green Flu went on to infect more than two billion people.
Interestingly, the natural immunity rate for Green Flu is actually incredibly high. Estimates suggest that 22% of the population are immune. Unfortunately, however, these people are not immune to having their faces eaten by the zombie like creatures that the virus creates. It could therefore be argued that they are actually the unlucky ones.
3 The Black Death (A Plague Tale: Innocence)
One only needs to consult a history book to understand the devastation caused by the black death. Estimates suggest that as many as 200 million people lost their lives over a seven year period. This works out at around 27% of the world's population at the time. For context, were a disease with the same mortality rate to hit the world today, up to 2.1 billion people could die.
A Plague Tale: Innocence does a fantastic job simulating the mindsets and emotions of those alive during the time of the plague. It provides players with an excellent point of reference for how their forefathers may have felt and the challenges & concerns that such a wide-scale infection would present. The game really does not get enough credit for the great job it does.
2 Progenitor Virus (RE)
The Progenitor Virus serves as the basis for most of the other viruses found in the Resident Evil series. It was developed by the evil Umbrella Corporation and is responsible for producing most of the game's zombies, not to mention the deaths of billions of people.
That the virus creates zombies is in itself terrifying. It's perhaps the sheer scale of the outbreak that makes this virus so scary though. The human race has been forced to its knees, and only the very strongest stand a chance of survival. Even then, it often feels like it's only a matter of time before they too fall victim to the carnage.
1 Various (Plague Inc.)
There's definitely something a little morbid about Ndemic Creations' Plague Inc. Players are tasked with creating and controlling the mutations of a virus with the sole aim of killing as many people as possible. It's often a race against time as in-game organizations scramble to develop a vaccine while countries across the globe close their borders.
The virus found in Plague Inc. depends entirely on the choices made by the player. Some are relatively harmless while others can go on to create a global pandemic. In the worst cases, the game's viruses have the potential to wipe out the entire human race. With a potential body count of 7.8 billion, that makes Plague Inc.'s virus the deadliest in all of gaming. As a result, it's also the most terrifying.