‘Plants vs. Zombies’ creator said he wasn’t fired for objecting on ‘pay-to-win’ strategy
Image: Twitter/@PlantsvsZombies
The creator of the popular game “Plants vs. Zombies” (PvZ) addressed reports concerning the reason of his termination from PopCap Games under Electronic Arts (EA).
George Fan tweeted that he was indeed against making PvZ2 a “freemium” game, but he did not provide further information about whether his being laid off in 2012 was connected with his opinion.
Image: Twitter/@thegeorgefan
Freemium games follow a model where the game itself can be downloaded and installed for free, but will feature microtransactions where players may purchase in-game items with real world money to enhance play.
This model has been commonly referred to as “pay-to-win” because some items could provide certain “unfair” advantages when used against other players. Meanwhile, some games offer microtransactions for simple cosmetic items like character skins.
According to a report by Kotaku, two former high-level PopCap Games employees said that Fan had been laid off along with 50 other staff members as part of a well thought out company decision. They also noted that Fan had not been working on PvZ2 at the time. Fan opted out of developing PvZ further when EA began to envision it as a big game franchise.
Former PopCap employee Allen Murray also confirmed that Fan had not been involved with the creation of PvZ2. Murray had been the lead producer for the game.
The big lay-off, which included Fan, had been a result of PopCap Games closing their San Mateo, California office, after EA bought the company in the summer of 2011, the report stated. The indie developer culture of the former PopCap simply did not mesh well with the more corporate atmosphere of EA.
PopCap now exists within the EA corporate umbrella as PopCap Studios. Alfred Bayle/JB
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