Plants vs. Zombies

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This article is about the franchise. For the first game in the franchise, see Plants vs. Zombies (video game).
"PvZ" redirects here. For other uses, see PVZ (disambiguation).

Plants vs. Zombies
Plants vs Zombies logo.png
Genre(s)Tower defense game (Mainline games)
Third-person shooter (Garden Warfare games)
Digital collectible card game (Plants vs. Zombies Heroes)
Developer(s)PopCap Games
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Creator(s)George Fan
Platform(s)
First releasePlants vs. Zombies
May 5, 2009
Latest releasePlants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
October 18, 2019

Plants vs. Zombies is a video game franchise developed by PopCap Games, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (EA). The first game, Plants vs. Zombies, was developed and released by PopCap before its acquisition by EA. After PopCap Games's acquisition, EA expanded the game into a franchise with games on many different platforms.

History[]

Release timeline
2009Plants vs. Zombies
2010
2011
2012
2013Plants vs. Zombies 2
2014Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019

Main series[]

On April 1, 2009, PopCap released a music video for the song "Zombies on your Lawn" to promote Plants vs. Zombies.[1] A PopCap spokesperson, Garth Chouteau, revealed in an IGN interview that Plants vs. Zombies would be released soon on PC and Mac.[2] On April 22, 2009, PopCap released an official game trailer of Plants vs. Zombies on YouTube.[3][4] During the promotion of Plants vs. Zombies, PopCap released a demo version of the game that allowed you to play the game for thirty minutes.[5] Plants vs. Zombies was officially released on May 5, 2009, for PC and Mac.[6]

PopCap Games and its assets were bought by EA on July 12, 2011, for 750 million dollars.[7] Fifty employees were laid off in the Seattle studio of PopCap Games on August 21, 2012, to mark a switch of focus to mobile and social gaming.[8]

On August 20, 2012, PopCap announced that they were working on a sequel to Plants vs. Zombies.[9] Its release date would be set at late spring of 2013.[10] However, the game's status was in doubt shortly after the announcement when the company went through a period of layoffs.[8]

In May 2013, PopCap Games released a trailer revealing a sequel to the first game, titled Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time.[11][12] The game was soft-launched for the iOS in Australia and New Zealand on July 10, 2013,[13] and was officially released on August 14, 2013, as a freemium title.[14] The game featured new locations and plants along with the addition of plant food, a power-up that can be used to enhance a plant for a short period and can either be bought using in-game currency or acquired by defeating zombies that are glowing green.[15]

In July 2019, EA announced Plants vs. Zombies 3, another free-to-play mobile title in the series. It was launched in a pre-alpha state for Android in July 2019.[16][17] The game soft-launched in February 2020 in the Philippines, Romania, and Ireland.[18] It was then made unavailable in October 2020, becoming unplayable in November 2020. EA has plans to release an improved version of the game in the future.[19] On September 7, 2021, a Plants vs. Zombies 3 was soft launched again with substantial changes, such as two-dimensional graphics and the return of the Sunflower.[20]

Spin-offs[]

A spin-off called Plants vs. Zombies Adventures was announced in March 2013[21] and was released on May 20, 2013, on Facebook. The game added new locations and new plants. It also had a gameplay feature in which the player had a limited amount of plants and had to grow more plants at an in-game farm.[22] In July 2014, it was announced that Plants vs. Zombies Adventures would close down on October 12, 2014.[23]

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was announced at E3 2013 as a multiplayer third-person shooter game developed for PC and consoles.[24][25] Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was released on February 25, 2014, in North America and on February 27, 2014, in Europe.[26] A sequel, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, was teased in June 2015 and officially announced at E3 2015.[27][28] The game was released on February 23, 2016.[29] On March 10, 2016, PopCap announced Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, a digital collectible card game in the style of tower defense. It was soft released to certain countries on the same day,[30] and was fully released internationally on October 18, 2016.[31]

In August 2019, a closed beta of a follow-up to Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 codenamed "Picnic" was made available to select players through invites.[32] And on September 4, 2019, EA announced the sequel's title; Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. It was released in an early access state that same date. The game was fully released on October 18, 2019.[33][34]

References[]

  1. ^ NG, Keane (April 1, 2009). "PopCap Reveals Plants vs. Zombies". The Escapist. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Ocampo, Jason (April 4, 2009). "No Joke — PopCap Reveals Plants vs. Zombies". IGN (Interview). Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2010. PC and Mac initially, with other platforms under consideration.
  3. ^ NG, Keane (April 24, 2009). "Battle Plants With Your Own Zombies". The Escapist. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Walker, John (April 24, 2009). "SPUDOW! Plants Vs Zombies Trailer, Zombie Maker". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Chester, Nick (May 4, 2009). "Plants vs. Zombies demo eating brains right now". Destructoid. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "PopCap Launches Plants vs. Zombies Game for PC and Mac". IGN. May 5, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  7. ^ Takahashi, Dean; Lynley, Matthew (July 12, 2011). "Electronic Arts buys PopCap for $750M". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Goldfarb, Andrew (August 21, 2012). "Report: Layoffs Hit PopCap, International Studios Shuttered". IGN. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Tom, Senior (August 20, 2012). "Plants vs. Zombies 2 announced: 'hordes of new plant and zombie types'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  10. ^ Krupa, Daniel (August 20, 2012). "Plants VS. Zombies Sequel out Late Spring 2013". IGN. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  11. ^ Yannick, LeJacq (May 6, 2013). "'Plants vs. Zombies' sequel shambling toward release in July". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  12. ^ Goldfarp, Andrew (May 6, 2013). "Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time Coming in July". IGN. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Fahey, Mike (July 10, 2013). "Plants Vs Zombies 2 Is Weeks Away, But Aussies Get To Play Today". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  14. ^ Davis, Justin (August 14, 2013). "Plants vs. Zombies 2 Launching Worldwide Tonight". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Shea, Cam (July 17, 2013). "Plants vs. Zombies 2 Review". IGN. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  16. ^ Holt, Kris (July 18, 2019). "'Plants vs. Zombies 3' is on the way and you can test it now". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  17. ^ Webster, Andrew (July 18, 2019). "EA announces Plants vs. Zombies 3". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  18. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (February 28, 2020). "'Plants Vs. Zombies 3' from PopCap and EA Has Soft Launched in Philippines, Romania, and Ireland". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  19. ^ Forde, Matthew (October 19, 2020). "EA pulls Plants vs. Zombies 3 from soft launch". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "A New Vision for PVZ 3 Has Taken Root!". September 7, 2021.
  21. ^ Grubb, Jeff (March 26, 2013). "Plants vs. Zombies shuffles to Facebook; sequel due in summer". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ^ Webster, Andrew (May 20, 2013). "'Plants vs. Zombies Adventures' is a Facebook game you'll actually want to play". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  23. ^ Shaul, Brandon (July 24, 2014). "EA Announces Closure of Plants vs Zombies Adventures on Facebook". AdWeek. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  24. ^ Yoan, Andrew (June 9, 2013). "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare coming to E3". Shacknews. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  25. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (June 10, 2013). "E3 2013: Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  26. ^ Karmali, Luke (January 16, 2014). "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Delayed". IGN. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  27. ^ Phillips, Tom (June 8, 2015). "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 teased ahead of E3 reveal". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  28. ^ Savage, Phil. "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 announced". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  29. ^ "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  30. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (March 10, 2016). "Collectible card game 'Plants vs. Zombies Heroes' in the works". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  31. ^ Minotti, Mike (October 18, 2016). "Plants vs. Zombies Heroes enters the mobile digital card game arena". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  32. ^ McWhertor, Mike (July 22, 2019). "EA sending out alpha invites for new Plants vs. Zombies shooter". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  33. ^ Fahey, Mike (April 9, 2019). "New Plants Vs. Zombies Shooter Announced, Goes Live Today". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  34. ^ Nelson, Xavier (September 11, 2019). "How EA and Plants vs. Zombies are battling binge culture". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.

External links[]

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