Europe – Creative agency Saint Elmo’s and the Long Covid Europe patient network have teamed up to launch an awareness campaign on the long-term debilitating effects of Covid through the world’s most popular single-player games, including Minecraft.
Using game modifications, Long Covid mode imposes effects on the game characters that resemble real long Covid symptoms, including exhaustion, reduced concentration, dizzy spells, blackouts and shortness of breath. This creates a new level of difficulty for players – an exciting proposition – while also recreating the sensation of living with long Covid.
According to the World Health Organization, one in 10 Covid infections leads to long-term health problems, which means millions of people are now living with long Covid, a number that continues to grow with very few diagnostic and therapeutic solutions available. The vivid stimulation of a life with long Covid showcases the potential of gaming platforms as sites for activism, especially as the line between people’s real lives and online worlds blur – a phenomenon we explored in our Affirmative Avatars market report.
Strategic opportunity
As the number of gamers grows – specifically among younger audiences – explore the marketing and communication opportunities that exist on these platforms, specifically through targeted partnerships and collaborations