EA announces Plants vs. Zombies 3

Today EA officially announced that the next main Plants vs. Zombies game is in the works. We don’t know much else about Plants vs. Zombies 3, but the game is currently in a pre-alpha state on Android, and you can register to play it early on Google Play right now.

The first Plants vs. Zombies launched back in 2009, blending a whimsical sense of humor with absolutely engrossing strategy gameplay. It started out as a PC game, but eventually migrated to consoles and mobile devices afterwards. A sequel followed in 2013, which made the controversial shift to a free-to-play structure. (Series creator George Fan was also not involved with the sequel.) EA continued to update the game years after launch, using a time travel premise as an excuse to introduce new worlds and enemies.

PvZ3 looks like it will follow suit. While EA hasn’t detailed much of the game, it does say it will be free-to-play, though microtransactions won’t be present in the alpha version. The early screenshots on Google Play look, well, like a Plants vs Zombies game, with lots of cute plants like sunflowers and walnuts defending areas from hapless undead.

Fans eager to get in should be patient, however, as it sounds as though the new game is fairly early in development. “We want to make sure we have everything ready and in tip-top shape for you to enjoy,” EA explains, “so we’ll let you know when we have a worldwide release date.”