Will There Be GW3?
As a passionate PvZ shooter fan, this is a question that lingers in my mind and surely many others in the loyal Garden Warfare community. While PopCap has not hinted at plans for a threequel, the franchise clearly remains close to their heart. Does the ongoing support for Garden Warfare 2 signal the sequel will simply expand forever, or could fan fervor eventually compel the developers to craft the ultimate next-gen plant-zombie war? There are reasonable cases to be made both for and against. Join me as we delve deeper into the debate!
The Ongoing Success of GW2
Over six years after launch, Garden Warfare 2 remains one of EA‘s more popular shooters with a remarkably sustained player base. According to an EA Answers HQ post as recently as June 2022, GW2 reportedly still sees quick matchmaking times – suggesting an active community.
Specific player count numbers are unavailable, but Steamcharts indicates an average 2,074 monthly players for the platform in 2022. Console numbers likely dwarf this. For context, competitor shooters like Battleborn and Paragon have shut down entirely by now. GW2‘s longevity speaks volumes.
Fueling this lasting multiplayer scene is PopCap‘s own continued support, releasing new content and events over half a decade later. Recent additions like Taco Bandits limited-time mode and new playable character launches keep the PvZ shooter fresh. Can you name many other 2016 titles receiving this level of post-launch polish?
Esports and competitive events also showcase Garden Warfare 2‘s ongoing niche popularity within shooting circles. The 2020 Plants vs Zombies Stay Home. Play Together tournament, for example, drew over 12,000 total participants across Xbox and PlayStation vying for $14,000 in prize money. Grassroots competitions continue thriving on sites like ChallengeMe.GG, pointing to an enduring competitive scene.
Could GW3 realistically gain much more momentum when the sequel remains so widely enjoyed?
The Risks of Sequels
PopCap is no stranger to the immense challenges of releasing follow-ups to popular titles. Their greatest financial success came from the original tower-defense Plants vs Zombies, which sold staggeringly well across countless platforms and casual audiences. Yet their attempts at capturing the same magic again in sequels saw mixed results.
2013‘s Plants vs Zombies 2 controversially introduced freemium paywalls and microtransactions to the formerly premium experience – souring many veteran fans. The 2019 mobile release Plants vs Zombies 3 then outright flopped, shuttering in less than a year from disinterest and necessity for complete reworking.
These struggles mirror those of legendary developers across gaming franchises. Rockstar‘s unprecedented smash hit Grand Theft Auto V sets sales records year after year, easily sustaining a mainstream player base. Yet the pressure for a record-shattering sequel leaves GTA 6 trapped in years of development hell. Epic Games chose to never pursue a direct Fortnite 2 follow-up, instead evolving the live title gradually to preserve its battle royale phenomenon.
Creating worthy sequels while avoiding franchise fatigue is an immense challenge. When GW2 continues thriving in its seventh year, why take the risk? PopCap allocating resources to an unproven threequel over expanding the current game risks a Plants vs Zombies 3-scale misstep. Financial prudence may see GW2 live on as a long-term service instead, avoiding dividing player attention across new installments.
What Could GW3 Offer?
Yet intriguingly, we‘ve been here before! The original 2014 Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare faced skepticism for branching the tower defense series into an online shooter until winning fans over through polished fun. Could lightning strike again? We can only dream of what a fully next-gen GW3 could unveil!
The generational leap from Xbox 360 gardens to the modernized factions of GW2 delivered striking visual overhauls alongside deeper progression, variants, modes and maps. New battlegrounds set in lush jungles, orbital stations and more complemeted returning suburban plots. What bizarre new frontiers could a hypothetical GW3 take us to wage vegetable warfare? Might we see lush mushroom forests? Post-apocalyptic cityscapes? Tranquil zen temple hideouts channeling feudal Japan? The creative possibilities are endless for PopCap‘s whimsical art direction.
And while GW2‘s 100 character rank cap and prestiging gives long-term goals for shooter mastery, I do wonder if we‘ve nearly maxed out variant potential. Could a third installment allow totally reinventing plant and zombie archetypes with spectacular new weapons and abilities? I‘d love to see innovative classes like Thornvine Trapper or Watercress Medic join the roster. We know PopCap has the creative chops to keep designing delightfully absurd combatants!
Of course, modernized technical capabilities could also enter the picture. Utilizing raytracing, dedicated servers, enhanced physics and more next-gen features would heighten that AAA shine. Upgrades like full crossplay support across all platforms would be welcome too. And might virtual reality devices one day allow us to literally step onto the cartoony battlegrounds, wielding pots and blasters with our own hands? The innovations are endlessly enticing.
The Verdict on GW3
While at this stage there is simply no evidence of PopCap developing a Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 3, I remain ever optimistic at the prospects. GW2 has definitively stood the test of time, fostering a passionate playerbase years later with PopCap‘s impressive post-launch support. Yet as flashy next-gen capabilities become standardized, the allure of crafting an ultimately explosive plant-zombie war sim may eventually prove too compelling to resist!
For now, the wait for definitive GW3 confirmation continues. But GW2 fans have plenty to tide themselves over, with new events and content drops persisting. This franchise clearly remains close to PopCap‘s heart – so never say never. After all – we once said the same about a shooter spinoff to tower defense Plants vs Zombies!
So while I cannot definitively conclude GW3 secretly lurks just below the surface, my enthusiasm for the Garden Warfare series will remain until the last plantstanding. Surely I‘m not alone in hoping to storm futuristic battlegrounds wielding a haughty array of innovative plant artillery one day? But for now, back to the gardens – I‘ve got questing to do!
What potential hopes or expectations would you have for a GW3 title? Let me know! For all the latest PvZ updates as I cover them, remember to subscribe! Until next time my plant-protecting pals!
