Highlights
- The fan-made Plants vs. Zombies 3 game, What Could Have Been, has stopped development due to legal threats from EA.
- The project was created to fix issues with the official Plants vs. Zombies 3 game, which faced development troubles.
- EA did not issue a cease and desist, but let the fan project team know they could face legal consequences.
The fan-made, non-profit Plants vs. Zombies 3 game, What Could Have Been, has halted development indefinitely after EA allegedly warned the creators that it may face legal trouble if it continued with the project.
Development on the fan-made game only began earlier this month, but EA has already put a stop to its creation. What Could Have Been aimed to be exactly what it’s titled, a Plants vs. Zombies 3 game that stayed true to the series’ roots and gave the community what it desired from the sequel.
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According to the game’s wiki page, What Could Have Been was a “fan game heavily based on Plants vs. Zombies 3, meant to revamp most aspects of its gameplay and game design as a whole, as well as certain aspects of its art direction.”
The project began after EA failed to deliver on the controversial Plants vs. Zombies 3, which received its third soft launch earlier this year following years of development troubles and reimaginings.
“We’re beyond thrilled to announce that Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia has soft launched! Players in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, Philippines, and the Republic of Ireland will have early access, with more countries coming at a later date,” EA subsidiary PopCap Games announced in January.
While Plants vs. Zombies 3 continues to be a work-in-progress game with no worldwide launch in sight, What Could Have Been aimed to rectify all of the game’s issues, but EA has put a stop to it.
Plants Vs. Zombies 3 Fanmade Game Shuts Down After EA Warning
Over on X (formerly Twitter), the official account for Plants vs. Zombies 3: What Could Have Been notified fans that the project has stopped development.
“PopCap and EA have contacted us directly to stop development on Plants vs. Zombies 3: What Could Have Been,” a post on X states.
According to the announcement, EA did not send a cease and desist or even a DMCA takedown. Instead, the publisher simply warned the project’s team, likely with legal action if development were to continue. As such, the team confirmed that they’d “rather not take the risk.”
“We believe they managed this situation awfully and unprofessionally. However, we don’t have a way to fight back,” the post states. “Everyone in the team was excited an eager to help bring this project to life…but it seems that that very passion put a target on our heads.”
While Plants vs. Zombies 3: What Could Have Been is no more, the team ended the statement by saying that is not the end for them, but simply the end for anything Plants vs. Zombies related coming from them.
Plants vs. Zombies
- Franchise
- Plants vs. Zombies
- Released
- May 5, 2009
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