Plants Vs Zombies Marks 16 Years

• Plants vs. Zombies turns 16 and remains surprisingly vibrant.
• Explore our retrospective reviews of the iconic mobile franchise.
• With PvZ 3 still in soft launch, fans eagerly await a classic comeback.

Sixteen years have passed since the original launch of Plants vs. Zombies. Today, more than a decade and a half later, we reflect on this groundbreaking mobile classic and its evolution. From modest origins to turbulent acquisitions and expansion beyond mobile, PvZ has earned its status as a gaming icon.

The journey began with developer PopCap Games in the late 2000s, when Plants vs. Zombies debuted on desktop in 2009. However, the shift to mobile in 2010 and the adoption of a free-to-play model truly propelled PvZ to worldwide fame.

In 2012, EA acquired PopCap. Despite a challenging transition toward mobile that led to staff reductions, the franchise quickly became a mobile gaming hallmark with the 2013 release of Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time.

EA had grand ambitions for the PvZ series, envisioning it as a pillar of console gaming as well. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville received mixed reactions, largely due to their shift to third-person shooter mechanics—a stark departure from the original’s gameplay.

Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia has been in development since 2020 and recently underwent a major redesign, taking the soft-launch version offline. It aims to recapture the series' roots with a fresh artistic direction and a return to classic tower defense strategy.

If you're interested in exploring the tower defense genre that Plants vs. Zombies helped popularize on mobile, take a look at our roundup of the 25 best tower defense games for iOS and Android to discover what’s out there.