We're celebrating our Sweet 16!

Come on down, as we’re inviting the whole of Neighborville and beyond to come party with us for our 16th Birthday! Hooray!

On this day, 16 years ago, the very first Plants vs. Zombies™ sprouted up. Since then, we've defended more brainz than you can shake an imp at! 

Wow, how the time has flown by! With another milestone in the rearview mirror, we wanted to celebrate the many memories made over 16 years of battling for the lawn! Taking inspiration from our plants in that we’re constantly growing and ever-evolving. We’ve collected some stories from over the years that illustrate why we planted our roots here. Bringing this zany series to life has always needed more than just one person…so we’ve invited our friends to share some of their favorite memories both as developers and lawn defenders!

Even though we may have grown up a bit, the memories of our early days are still fresh as daisies in our mind. As Claire C. (Community Coordinator) has never forgotten her first encounter with the series: “Using my new laptop at university 10+ years ago to take notes, I noticed that Plants vs. Zombies was already installed. I ended up playing the game the full day, not taking any notes at all.” With that dedication, we know she got those notes done while taking care of zombies. And even now that new generations are picking up the potting soil, the fun hasn’t grown old as Simon M. (Procurement) tells us “My son (now 8 years old) started playing two years ago with his school friends on my PS5. Starting off with Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, then Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville, then my son discovered that there were mobile games too, so obviously I also have PvZ, PvZ 2 and PvZ Heroes on my iPhone and iPads.” We’re happier than a sunflower that we can help create such happy memories for Simon’s son!

Conan C. (QA Tester) recounts “I was told by a friend about this weird, new Tower Defense game that was unlike any other Tower Defense games. I wasn't that keen on the genre, but eventually I did check out PvZ 1 and I've been a fan ever since. It was my love of PvZ 1 that made me jump at the opportunity to work at PopCap on PvZ 2.” We’re so glad to have you here with us Conan!

Part of making PvZ so memorable over the years is creating a cast of unforgettable characters, the CRAAAAZY concepts, and the generous sprinkling of plant puns throughout. DF (Designer) says “My favorite character is probably Bonk Choy. Super useful plant and it's always ready to beat some zombies! But my favorite memory is the first plant I created going into Plants vs. Zombies 2, BoomBerry!.” Quite a pun-ishing pick all around, if we do say so ourselves.

Everyone will have their most beloved favorites and ways to play, such as Thomas C. (French Community Manager) who tells us “Peashooter will always be my favorite plant because it's cute. But also, the character playstyle in Garden Warfare games is the one that suits me the most! Chili Bean Bomb and Pea Gatling abilities were dealing so much damage.” 

Beyond the comedy, cooking up challenges to overcome is what drives several of us: Mike J. (Engineer) fondly remembers his work on both PvZ 2 and PvZ Heroes. “Working on Shrinking Violet in PvZ 2 and having our lead audio designer realize that smaller zombies should make higher-pitched sounds was a beautiful moment - especially fun for the piano player! Neon Mixtape Tour's Zomboss was particularly fun to implement, as extending the battle to a five-phase battle instead of three had me questioning some really basic assumptions about that battle, which is always interesting. Having the battle switch music with each phase (the same audio designer LOVED this world!) was also fun, but the best part was figuring out some new tech to make the speaker attacks actually synchronize their animation and attack damage with the beat of the music, no matter which phase you were battling.”

RH (Development Director) shared this gem of a memory: “I remember this giant discussion thread in our chat tool from the time (it was called Burrito) which was used to decide the actual name of the game, which had originally been Lawn of the Dead (this had to change due to Legal issues). There were so many clever names, but of course PvZ was the right one... I remember Morticulture and Zombotony being early contenders though.” So good to hear the history of such an iconic name!

We also couldn’t do it without those who have risked their brainz and houses with us over the years, our fans! Michael, who worked on PvZ 2, recounts the most positive interaction he had with a fan: “We hosted a fan of PvZ from the Make-A-Wish foundation named Miles several years ago. He was a young boy who loved our games and was able to meet the art team and share some of his ideas for characters with them. They brought some of his ideas to life on the spot, drawing and animating some. You couldn't help but smile when you saw Miles’ joy that day.” 

Mike J. also shared an unexpected interaction: “Oh man, this is my hands-down favorite ‘why I do this job’ memory. I went out for dinner with my wife, and happened to be wearing my PvZ 2 Developer "Lawn Defense League" shirt. A kid at a neighboring table saw the shirt, went wide-eyed, and invited himself to our table (with confirmed approval from his parents) and proceeded to talk our ears off about how much he loved the game, his favorite plants and zombies, most fun combos, and a bunch more. Just a perfect encapsulation of the fun and enjoyment we build on a daily basis.” Conan C. shares with us that “It's something that I still see every time I wear Popcap or PvZ gear. People come up to me and tell me how much they love PvZ. Even today, 16 years after it was released! Knowing that I helped make such beloved games is a great feeling.” Such wholesomeness would probably put Dr. Zomboss in a stupor, but we can never get enough of it.

Reflecting on these amazing 16 years has been a fantastic experience for the team, so we invite you to join in and share your memories with us everywhere that Zombies and Plants can be found battling with #PvZSweet16 and #PvZMemoryLane on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Curious as to what we’ve got growing? Sign up to the Plants vs. Zombies Newsletter to be the first defenders to hear the latest news coming to the Neighborhood and beyond!

Psst! We asked various people which team they supported - Plants, Zombies or Gnomes! These were the results. Does this come as a surprise to you?