Both good and bad news–along with a new trailer–has arrived today from the casual gaming kingdom of PopCap Games.
On the positive side, Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time has an official launch date of July 18th. That’s great and all, but sadly for the broad, multi-platform fan base of the original the sequel will first be releasing on iOS devices exclusively. Surely other versions will follow over time, but to play the game on day one you’re gonna need an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Bummer. (At least for me since I don’t own an iOS device.)
Also potentially divisive amongst fans, PopCap has confirmed that PvZ 2 will be a free-to-play game supported by microtransactions. While PopCap says “players can face every zombie and access every level in every world at no cost,” new content will be added to the game on a regular basis and players will need to pay for certain upgrades and in-game items.
Suddenly I’m not quite as excited about a Plants vs. Zombies sequel as I once was.