PopCap Splits Into Two Teams, Another Console Project On Tap

PopCap has pruned some of its team and put the cuttings in a new pot to bloom. The studio behind Peggle, Bookworm, and the new Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is now composed of a mobile and an HD team.

Speaking with Digital Spy, PopCap marketing manager Gary Clay revealed the reorganization. He also told the publication that the HD team is working on a new property that may not be something we know of in the PopCap stable.

PopCap HD also includes employees formerly of EA’s Black Box studio (Skate). When Black Box was closed, some of those employees were formed around Quickline Games. Quickline was reportedly shuttered in April 2013 when EA Partners was largely shut down.

[Source: Digital Spy]

Our Take
We didn’t love Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (our review), and I can’t help but think that EA released the game in this fiscal year for a quick burst of cash with no long-term prospects. I don’t understand the logic of releasing a small online shooter just two weeks before Titanfall (also to be published by EA), even if the target demographics don't completely overlap. For those Garden Warfare fans, I hope the support and the player base continue to flourish, but I don’t hold out much hope.