GameIn
YEAR 2009
GENRE Strategy
PLATFORM Android, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, macOS, iOS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone
ABOUT THE GAME

Plants vs. Zombies is a 2009 tower defense video game developed and published by PopCap Games. First released for Windows and macOS, the game has since been ported to consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices. The player takes the role of a homeowner amid a zombie apocalypse. As a horde of zombies approaches along several parallel lanes, the player must defend their home by placing plants or fungi, which fire projectiles at the zombies, or otherwise detrimentally affect them, or aid the player. The player collects a resource called "sun" to place plants. If a zombie reaches the house on any lane, the player loses the level. Plants vs. Zombies was designed by George Fan, who conceptualized it as a more defense-oriented sequel to his fish simulator game Insaniquarium (2001), then developed it into a tower defense game featuring plants fighting against zombies. The game took inspiration from the games Magic: The Gathering and Warcraft III, along with the movie Swiss Family Robinson. Its development spanned three and a half years. Rich Werner was the main artist, Tod Semple served as programmer, and Laura Shigihara composed the game's music. In order to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, the tutorial was designed to be simple and spread throughout the game. Plants vs. Zombies was critically acclaimed, nominated for multiple awards, including "Download Game of the Year" and "Strategy Game of the Year" as part of the Golden Joystick Awards 2010, and has since been considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Reviewers praised the game's humorous art style, simplistic but engaging gameplay, and soundtrack. Upon release, it was the fastest-selling video game developed by PopCap Games and quickly became their best-selling game, surpassing Bejeweled and Peggle. In 2011, PopCap was bought by Electronic Arts (EA). The company laid off Fan and 49 other employees, marking a change of focus to mobile and social gaming. After the buyout, Plants vs.

Source: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 — Plants vs. Zombies (video game) · retrieved October 19, 2026

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PROVENANCE

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RECORD FACTS
Developer
PopCap Games
Publisher
PopCap Games
First release
May 5, 2009
Series
Plants vs. Zombies
Cover
Official thumbnail
Record ID
Q379128

TIME SHELF

Across decades

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