As PopCap proclaims a “definitive” new model of its beloved authentic Plants vs Zombies, the studio has mirrored on the evolution of its backyard tower protection franchise — and revealed why now could be the proper time for it to return to the collection’ PC and console roots, after a pair of sequels targeted on smartphones.
Talking to IGN, PopCap studio normal supervisor Nick Reinhart mentioned the freshly-announced Plants vs Zombies: Replanted was a chance to “reestablish” what followers liked about the collection, whereas making it accessible on fashionable consoles, with polished-up 4K graphics.
Plants vs Zombies: Replanted will arrive on October 23, 2025 priced at $19.99, for PC (by way of EA app, Epic Video games Retailer and Steam) and on consoles for Nintendo Change, Change 2, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Collection X/S.
New options embody native co-op and PVP choices, two further recreation modes (a roguelike permadeath providing named Relaxation in Peace, and Cloudy Day mode, which ups the problem by limiting daylight), plus an artwork gallery exhibiting previously-unreleased ideas.
Describing the package deal as “the definitive PvZ remaster,” government producer Jake Neri mentioned it was PopCap’s approach to “protect the magic of the authentic whereas additionally giving it a freshness that permits it to reside for one other 20-odd years.”
“We have heard for fairly a whereas now that that individuals would love a remaster of this recreation,” Neri continued, when requested why Replanted was surfacing now. “Timing is essential.”
“PopCap simply celebrated [PvZ’s] Candy 16, which can seem to be a little little bit of a unusual one however, at PopCap, we’re unusual,” added Reinhart. “It definitely has been swirling round kind of for a little bit, as we have been speaking about getting issues pulled collectively.”
Replanted’s announcement comes at an fascinating time for the Plants vs Zombies franchise, following at the least six years of labor by PopCap testing numerous variations of Plants vs Zombies 3 on smartphones. Lastly launched worldwide in January 2024, PvZ 3 was then taken offline in October 2024 for one other “main overhaul” — and, practically a yr later, it’s nonetheless to resurface.
“My official reply right here is that I haven’t got something to say about PvZ 3 at the second,” Reinhart mentioned when requested for an replace on the MIA threequel’s standing. For 2025, at the least, the franchise’s focus seems to be Replanted — although there are “no plans” for Replanted to additionally launch on smartphones, one thing that would go away the runway clear for PvZ to return there in some unspecified time in the future.
“Is it a reset?” Reinhart mentioned, when requested if Replanted’s launch was the franchise resetting to its origins, after numerous spin-offs and sequels. “I believe that is an fascinating approach to kind of body the query. What I’d say is that I believe it is extra of a reacknowledgement of what our roots are, and what kind of video games we needs to be serious about and what we needs to be making.”
“Has the model ever gone away? No,” Reinhart continued. “A reset, to me, virtually implies ‘nicely, it has been useless on the vine,’ and we’re, like, making an attempt to convey it again or one thing like that. I do not suppose it is there. I do suppose that it is a chance for us to reestablish that that is a model that individuals love, that there are nonetheless a lot of Neighborville tales that we are able to and ought to inform, and that we now have to creator that, to some extent, with our fan base in thoughts, and that we now have to find a way to acknowledge what we have carried out there.”
Naturally, PopCap has arrived on its resolution to relaunch the authentic Plants vs Zombies after seeing the response to its newer video games in the collection. 2013’s smartphone-only Plants vs Zombies 2 was widespread and long-lasting, although included touchscreen power-ups and microtransactions that grated with some gamers. Newer years have seen the franchise’s console focus rework into a 3D shooter, by way of the Backyard Warfare spin-off franchise — although for now, 2019 entry Battle for Neighborville seems to be the final.
Even PopCap itself, beforehand a prolific creator of weird however compulsive recreation concepts (Feeding Frenzy! Zuma! Bookworm!) has consolidated its focus in recent times. Bejeweled Stars might be a decade previous subsequent yr, whereas Peggle 2 is 12 years previous already, with no signal of a third entry on the horizon.
“I’d say that the ardour of the group is a vital factor that has to be galvanized and acknowledged,” Reinhart mentioned, discussing why PopCap has gone again to PvZ’s roots now. “A lot of what conjures up our design selections is, how we guarantee that we’re retaining one thing that’s acquainted, that does not totally break the compact we now have made with the participant base, however that we are able to additionally then start to iterate and transfer it ahead as nicely.”
“This recreation has given us a chance to go and dive in and attempt to determine precisely what it’s that individuals love about PvZ,” Neri added. “And there is a lot of studying that we have carried out about the zaniness of the IP and the way it appeals to individuals in that approach, and that helps information us and assist us be true to what the the expectation is.”
This need to hold inside fan expectations helped knowledgeable PopCap’s alternative of latest modes for Replanted, Neri continued, as whereas the developer had loads of concepts and might have gone in “all completely different instructions,” Replanted’s crew as an alternative aimed for what they thought followers would truly need.
“We’re very considerate about how a lot innovation we convey into it,” Reinhart agreed, “and not simply making an attempt to alienate the core total expertise for gamers… As we glance to the future, we’re taking a look at the model extra holistically and saying, what else is there? And what wouldn’t it imply for us to reinvestigate a few of that? There aren’t any formal plans for proper now, nevertheless it’s one thing we’re spending a lot of time taking a look at. However for this yr, for the present stanza of the place PopCap is, it’s again at tower protection, and we’re enthusiastic about that.”
“We have carried out a ton of exploration round what individuals liked about all the completely different variations of PvZ and making an attempt to convey it again into this model,” Neri added. “As we go ahead, I undoubtedly hope that Replanted might be an anchor for for us, that individuals can look to and perceive — as a result of the authentic PvZ nonetheless lives in individuals’s hearts and minds.”
So what of the future? Does a return to the extra grounded authentic Plants vs Zombies in Replanted provide a clue as to the place the franchise might go subsequent? Or might it spark the re-release of different PopCap classics?
“We have completely been having conversations about — if that is fruitful, if this meets the followers expectations… is that this a template?” Reinhart mentioned. “I believe there’s a lot of enthusiasm about that. Now, whether or not or not there are literally plans ongoing but, we won’t say that, however I’d say we’re very to see how this goes and what it could possibly imply for different properties to kind of possibly observe a comparable route.
“PvZ is extremely enduring,” Reinhart concluded, “and having the ability to convey that to a new viewers, to reawaken individuals’s nostalgia and their emotions about it as nicely, particularly in a time the place I believe the world might use a little little bit of pleasure and wackiness, it simply looks like the proper time for that.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You possibly can attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social