PvZ sequel to arrive in 2013, despite company downsizing –PopCap

"Plants vs Zombies," the runaway hit video game pitting sunflowers and other plants against a group of brain-eating zombies, will have a sequel coming in spring 2013.

 

That was the good news. Now, the bad news: PopCap, the creator of the game, said it has been forced to lay off 50 employees.

 

"(On Aug. 20), we announced the much-anticipated sequel to Plants vs. Zombies. That’s very exciting. A lot of people have been asking about it. The game will come to fruition in the spring of 2013," PopCap co-founder John Vechey said in a blog post.

 

But he also said PopCap has informed its employees about a reorganization in its studios that will include a “Reduction In Force” in its North American operation.

 

"Today’s news is something you expect periodically from a company in a fast-changing industry, but it sucks if you’re one of the people losing his or her job. These people are our friends and we don’t like doing this," he said.

 

Vechey also said this was not the first time PopCap made hard decisions, as it had cuts before.

 

But he said that even with the cuts, "we expect to end the year with roughly the same number of people we started with."

 

Vechey said that in 2011, there was a dramatic change in the way people play and pay for games, with fFree-to-play, social and mobile games exploding in popularity.

 

The change in consumer tastes requires PopCap to reorganize its business and invest in new types of games on new platforms, he said.

 

Also, he said PopCap needed to manage costs, improve efficiency and maintain a profit.

 

"We’ve been able to invest in creative new games like Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies because we had a high profit business. That business is challenged, and if we don’t adapt, we won’t be able to invest in new IP. That sounds harsh – but if we don’t stay in business, no more plants, zombies, jewels, frogs or worms," he said.

 

Vechey said the decision to reorganize was a 100-percent PopCap decision, without pressure from Electronic Arts, which had acquired it.

 

For now, he said part of making changes is to stay healthy and viable.

 

"Good companies don’t wait to change until it’s too late. We’re growing quickly into new areas of mobile and social, and are expanding in new markets like Japan and China. And there are many more great games to come from PopCap," he said.

 

A separate report on Mashable said PopCap, which has 550 employees, is evaluating the future of its office in Dublin, Ireland.

 

It added that since EA acquired PopCap for $1.2 billion last year, the company has hired aggressively.

 

“Even with the cuts we expect to end the year with roughly the same number of people we started with,” Vechey said.

 

Aside from "Plants vs Zombies," PopCap also makes favorites Bejeweled and Peggle. — TJD, GMA News