- Windows 11✓
- Steam Deck✓ Verified
- Mac✓
- Linux✓ native
- 55,664 reviews94% positive
- Steam store page
- Released
- 2012
- Developer
- Ndemic Creations
- Genre
- Casual, Indie, Simulation, Strategy
- Best version today
- Evolved is the expanded PC and console version of the 2012 mobile game, with a cleaner interface, more modes and Workshop scenarios, so it is the one to play on a computer.
- Time to beat
- About 4 hours for the main story HowLongToBeat
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck
- Last checked
- October 31, 2026
Does Plague Inc: Evolved run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?
| Windows 11 | ✓Sold for Windows today, no problem on record. Source |
|---|---|
| Mac (Apple Silicon) | ✓Runs on Apple Silicon. Source |
| Linux | ✓Native Linux version. Source |
| Steam Deck | ✓Verified by Valve. Source |
Played it lately? Press Works for me or Doesn’t work on your platform, so the next player knows. One click, no account. How we check where it runs
Synopsis
A real-time strategy game in which players design a disease and try to infect and wipe out the world's population before humanity finds a cure. Players spend points evolving transmission routes, symptoms and resistances, balancing how fast the plague spreads against how quickly it draws attention.
What people say
Critics praised its strategic depth and its convincing model of how disease spreads and how governments react, calling the PC version an improvement on the mobile original. They also noted long stretches of waiting, a tendency to settle on one winning approach and the occasional unfair loss. Players still enjoy it in bursts and appreciate the steady stream of updates and the cure mode, but many say it turns repetitive after a few hours, lean on wikis to learn its hidden rules and complain about the price of add-ons.
Playability today
The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works
Runs today
5 / 5- ✓Sold or given away today by an official source
- ✓Runs on Windows 11 without fan patches
✓All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
PCGamingWiki records no shut-down servers or lost content (PCGamingWiki).
✓Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
Native widescreen and modern resolutions (PCGamingWiki).
✓Full controller support or remappable controls
Remappable keys (PCGamingWiki).
- ✓Steam Deck Verified or Playable
- ✓No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
- ✓No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
✓No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
PCGamingWiki lists no unresolved issues (PCGamingWiki).
1 check not confirmed yet
- Single-player works without an internet connection
From the Steam store, Valve’s Steam Deck rating and the sources under each check. Checks not confirmed yet don’t count.
Design today
3 / 5✓Controls feel natural on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Everything is done with simple mouse clicks on the map and upgrade screens, and players report only minor mouse lag. Source: vaporlens.app.
✗Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
Critics call the HUD clumsy and defeat can arrive within seconds, and Steam Deck players report that the Symptoms and Abilities tabs do not work. Source: opencritic.com, vaporlens.app.
✓Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
Rounds last under an hour and the game keeps your run in progress, so little is at stake when you stop, and no summary reports lost progress. Source: vaporlens.app.
✗Hard to make progress without a guide
The game explains little about its hidden mechanics, so players fail and restart repeatedly and rely on outside wikis, and a tutorial softlock bug adds to the problem. Source: vaporlens.app.
✗Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Critics point to long waiting periods while the plague spreads, and players say the loop becomes repetitive after a few hours. Source: opencritic.com, vaporlens.app.
✓Camera and movement never fight the player
The game is played on a single pannable world map, and neither critics nor players report camera trouble. Source: opencritic.com, vaporlens.app.
Judged against games made today, from complaints that recur among players. Each reason links to its source.
Sources
- Steam store page (requirements, platforms)
- SteamSpy (Steam review counts)
- Steam Deck compatibility, Valve
- ProtonDB reports
- OpenCritic
- Metacritic: Plague Inc: Evolved
- PCGamingWiki: Plague Inc: Evolved
- Vaporlens: Plague Inc: Evolved review summary
- Vaporlens: Plague Inc: Evolved review summary
How does it play for you today?