Plants vs Zombies 2 soft launch kicks off in Australia and New Zealand, will be free-to-play
We received unfortunate news late last month when the projected release date for Plants vs Zombies 2 came and went without an actual release. Popcap announced that the game had been delayed, and didn’t give any further explanation or any date other than “summer.” Well, the game has launched now… but not everywhere.
Popcap has released the game in Australia and New Zealand as a soft launch, of sorts. According to them, the initial delay was to make sure their new servers were properly setup and capable of handling the account-based features Popcap will be implementing. These features will include the ability to login with your account from any device and pick up where you left off, as well as the system for in-app purchases.
Speaking of which, the app will be free for that very reason — Popcap will be employing the freemium model that most developers have resorted to for mobile gaming. We’re not yet sure just how reliant the game will be on user purchases, but if EA’s Real Racing 3 is anything to go by we should be able to play a vast majority of the game and unlock loads of content without spending much at all.
Asked why smaller markets like New Zealand and Australia were chosen for soft launches, Popcap senior producer Allen Murray professed they “didn’t want to launch in a large region, but we wanted to work in a region that had similar economic behavior” as North America, noting that smaller markets would allow them to get a better estimate of their server needs once the game launches worldwide.
We’re always willing to wait a little extra if it results in a better app or game, so we’re not totally bummed out that we aren’t already enjoying the goodness that is Plants vs Zombies 2. We’ll be feeding you folks information about the full release once those details finally become available.
[via Polygon]