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.
On April 1, 2009, PopCap released a music video for the song “Zombies on your Lawn” to promote Plants vs. Zombies. A PopCap spokesperson, Garth Chouteau, revealed in an IGN interview that Plants vs. Zombies would be released soon on PC and Mac. On April 22, 2009, PopCap released an official game trailer of Plants vs. Zombies on YouTube. During the promotion of Plants vs. Zombies, PopCap released a demo version of the game that could be played for thirty minutes. Plants vs. Zombies was officially released on May 5, 2009, for PC and Mac.
PopCap Games and its assets were bought by EA on July 12, 2011, for 750 million dollars. 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.
On August 20, 2012, PopCap announced that they were working on a sequel to Plants vs. Zombies. Its release date would be set at late spring of 2013. However, the game’s status was in doubt shortly after the announcement when the company went through a period of layoffs.
In May 2013, PopCap Games released a trailer revealing a sequel to the first game, titled Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time. The game was soft-launched for the iOS in Australia and New Zealand on July 10, 2013, and was officially released on August 14, 2013, as a freemium title. 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.
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. The game soft-launched in February 2020 in the Philippines, Romania, and Ireland. 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. On September 7, 2021, Plants vs. Zombies 3 was soft launched again with substantial changes, such as two-dimensional graphics and the return of the Sunflower.