Solve the Outbreak vs Operation Outbreak
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Solve the Outbreak
Become a Disease Detective and solve simulated outbreaks by analyzing clues and data. Make critical decisions to contain diseases and save lives, earning badges and climbing ranks. Learn about real-world disease investigation in an engaging, game-like experience.
- Solve simulated outbreaks
- Analyze clues and data
- Make critical decisions
- Earn badges and ranks
- Learn about diseases
- Challenge friends
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Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to get clues and analyze data to solve the outbreak and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be a Disease Detective. Do you quarantine the village? Interview people who are sick? Run more lab tests? The better your answers, the higher your score - and the quicker you’ll climb the ranks to become a decorated Disease Detective. In level 1, you’ll start as a Trainee and earn badges by solving scenarios — with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective. Unlock Level 2 by mastering all the 12 outbreaks of Level 1. Then earn honors by solving new and more challenging scenarios. Earn recognitions like Surveillance and Treatment Honors. New outbreaks happen every day and CDC's Disease Detectives are on the front lines — working 24/7 to save lives and protect people. When a new outbreak occurs, Disease Detectives are sent in to figure out how the outbreak started before it spreads further. In this app, you'll also: • Learn about diseases and outbreaks in an engaging way. • See how CDC's Disease Detectives save lives around the world. • Have the option to post your scores on Facebook or Twitter and challenge your friends to play!
Operation Outbreak
Engage in a virtual pathogen outbreak simulation using Bluetooth. Learn about disease spread and prevention through interactive gameplay, quizzes, and teamwork. Requires a code from an organizer to participate.
- Bluetooth-enabled outbreak simulation
- Learn disease prevention strategies
- Interactive quizzes on biology and public health
- Team-based gameplay
- Simulate pathogen spread
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The Operation Outbreak (OO) app uses Bluetooth to simulate the spread of a "virtual pathogen" through phones. Play an outbreak simulation with this app to learn how to stop the spread of disease by adopting preventive measures such as social distancing and mask wearing, answering quizzes about biology and public health, and working together as a team with the rest of the outbreak participants. You will need a code from a simulation organizer in order to play.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Solve the Outbreak at 96% against Operation Outbreak's 67%. Solve the Outbreak also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Operation Outbreak's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Solve the Outbreak holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 60 and 152 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 96% of Solve the Outbreak's written reviews are positive against 67% of Operation Outbreak's.
Solve the Outbreak ships an update every 5 months, Operation Outbreak every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Solve the Outbreak | Operation Outbreak |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (60 ratings) — better | 4.3 (152 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.7% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 60 | 152 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 258 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Centers For Disease Control and Prevention | THE BROAD INSTITUTE INC |
Customer experience
Solve the Outbreak
Operation Outbreak
Bugs and requests
Solve the Outbreak
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when attempting to reset scores in settings
- Old scores and progress remain after reset attempt
- Accidental question selection due to bottom screen placement
Requested features
10 requests- Add more outbreak cases and scenarios
- Create harder difficulty levels for advanced players
- Include visual aids and images for better understanding
- Add background music and sound effects
- Implement branching storylines with different outcomes
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- Create Level 3 with more complex cases
- Add ability for users to create custom outbreaks
- Improve text size and readability on smaller screens
- Release app on iPhone in addition to iPad
- Include more historical and special plague scenarios
Operation Outbreak
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Solve the Outbreak
No in-app purchases
Operation Outbreak
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Solve the Outbreak free?
Is Operation Outbreak free?
Which has better reviews, Solve the Outbreak or Operation Outbreak?
Do Solve the Outbreak or Operation Outbreak have ads?
Which is updated more often, Solve the Outbreak or Operation Outbreak?
Other comparisons
