Plants vs. Zombies Heroes enters the mobile digital card game arena

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has dragons, pirates, wizards, and gnomes, but can it survive sentient flowers?

Developer PopCap Games announced today that Plants v. Zombies Heroes, a digital card game take on the whimsical series, is now available worldwide as a free-to-play release on iOS and Android devices. It had a soft launch in limited territories back in March. The digital card game market is worth $1.2 billion thanks to the success of Blizzard’s Hearthstone, and now companies like PopCap owner Electronic Arts are looking to take advantage of with their own franchises.

“Plants vs. Zombies Heroes started a few years ago as a paper card game prototype and a fun way for our team to enjoy playing with their favorite PvZ characters in their spare time,” said Brian Lindley, senior producer for Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Since then it has evolved into a hilarious, crazy, over-the-top collectible card game that’s fun for everyone but packed with depth, secrets, and strategy. We can’t wait for our fans to start playing.”

The game includes competitive modes that allows players to fights friends or strangers, and it also has a single-player campaign with 400 levels that can help them earn new cards.

The Plants vs. Zombies series started in 2009 as a tower-defense game for browsers. Its first spin-off series, Garden Warfare, turned the franchise into a team-based shooter. With this foray into digital card gaming, Plants vs. Zombies seems intent on proving its versatility.