'Plants Vs. Zombies' Creator Reportedly Fired For Objecting To Pay-To-Win
EA is once again in hot water after allegedly firing the creator of the hit game "Plants vs. Zombies" for objecting to the pay-to-win system that EA wanted to introduce to the game's sequel. This revelation comes after the publisher received a lot of flak for the "Star Wars Battlefront 2" microtransaction model that even drew concerns from Disney.
The story came from Edmund McMillen, a friend of "PvZ" creator George Fan and the man behind "The Binding of Isaac" and "Super Meat Boy." According to McMillen, Fan was recruited by PopCap, where he made the hit game with a very small team.
While the game was successful, McMillen stresses that it was made with an indie mindset back in 2009. This was when microtransaction models were still at their infancy and was even more of a pay-to-win system.
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"It was personal," McMillen argued. "Knowing the guy, I can see the characters are personal. Every little piece was something from him. It was his baby."
McMillen continued saying that EA subsequently took control of "Plants vs Zombies" after it acquired PopCap in 2011. However, when the publisher proposed that the sequel, "Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time," will have a pay-to-win model that supported in-app purchases, Fan resisted.
According to McMillen, Fan was later fired for his objections to the pay-to-win system. He has since been back to making independent games including the upcoming "Octogeddon." He adds that McMillen's objections were well-founded given that such as system would be a death knell for any game even more so in 2009 than in 2017.
Two unnamed sources later issued a statement in response to McMillen's report saying that Fan was let go as part of a 50-person layoff at the development studio in 2012. The sources adds that Popcap closed its San Mateo office, which Fan operated out of, and was only let go after "months of discussion and debate."
Fan also responded to the report posting on Twitter saying, "Regarding recent rumors, it is true I was laid off by EA/PopCap, and also true that I was against making 'PvZ2' a freemium game. That's all I'll say on the matter for now."
