Popcap Games has officially announced the development of Plants vs. Zombies 3, the latest game in the popular tower defense franchise. The announcement was made alongside a request from developer Popcap Games to join the pre-alpha of Plants vs. Zombies 3 while it's "under construction." The pre-alpha for Plants vs. Zombies 3 is planned to be rolled out to more and more players over the coming weeks and months, but the first phase has already begun.

For those interested in trying out the next Plants vs. Zombies game for themselves, there are a few restrictions to take into account. The Plants vs. Zombies 3 pre-alpha requires an Android device that is on par or more powerful than a Galaxy S7, with Android 6.0 or higher installed. The Plants vs. Zombies 3 pre-alpha is not available for iOS users at this time. To continue playing after download, players will have to remain logged into the same Google Play Games account that they downloaded the pre-alpha on.

Here's where it gets a little bit more complicated. The Plants vs. Zombies 3 pre-alpha is going to be made available to more and more players in waves, starting with a very limited number of players. That means that, technically, people can search for Plants vs. Zombies 3 on Google Play right now. It also means that it may already be unavailable, having reached its download limit. If it's currently unavailable, Popcap Games recommends trying again tomorrow or next week.

plants vs. zombies 3 gameplay

The surprise reveal of Plants vs. Zombies 3 comes six years after the launch of Plants vs. Zombies 2, which was heavily criticized for its excessive monetization. For the time being, Plants vs. Zombies 3's pre-alpha won't be monetized, but Popcap makes no promises about the future. It seems likely that Plants vs. Zombies 3 will be free-to-play with microtransactions at launch, but only time will tell whether the monetization will be better received.

As for launch, Popcap Games isn't ready to announce when it's targeting the full launch for Plants vs. Zombies 2. The studio says it's currently testing different features and will have more information to show in the future.

Plants vs. Zombies 3 has no current release window and is currently only confirmed for Android devices.

Source: Destructoid