Plants vs. Zombies Replanted dev explains why the game is getting a remaster nearly 20 years later

Nick Reinhart, general manager at PopCap, recently spoke about why the original Plants vs. Zombies is making a comeback after so many years with the upcoming Replanted remaster.

The title is seeing a new release later this year on Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch. It goes well beyond a port as the team is adding in local co-op and PVP options, the Rest in Peace and Cloudy Day modes, and an art gallery showing previously-unreleased concepts.

Reinhart told IGN that Replanted gives the team a chance to “reestablish” what fans loved about the series and bring it into the modern era. It’s also said to be “the definitive PvZ remaster,” according to executive producer Jake Neri, who also noted that PopCap is now able to “preserve the magic of the original while also giving it a freshness that allows it to live for another 20-odd years.”

Neri went on to say the following about why PopCap is now revisiting Plants vs. Zombies:

“We’ve heard for quite a while now that that people would love a remaster of this game. Timing is important. PopCap just celebrated [PvZ’s] Sweet 16, which may seem like a little bit of a strange one but, at PopCap, we are strange. It certainly has been swirling around sort of for a little bit, as we’ve been talking about getting things pulled together.”

When asked if the franchise is seeing a reset, Reinhart said “it’s more of a reacknowledgement of what our roots are, and what sort of games we should be thinking about and what we should be making.”

Closing out his comments on the return of Plants vs. Zombies, Reinhart noted:

“PvZ is incredibly enduring, and being able to bring that to a new audience, to reawaken people’s nostalgia and their feelings about it as well, especially in a time where I think the world could use a little bit of joy and wackiness, it just feels like the right time for that.”

Plants vs. Zombies Replanted launches for Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch on October 23, 2025. Check out the first details and trailer here.