The Game Census
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition cover art

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition

PopCap Games, Inc. · 2009-05-05

SteamEpic Games StoreMicrosoft StoreGame Pass

Strategy

Franchise: Plants vs. Zombies · Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Side view

Releases: Aug 09, 2010 (Mac), Aug 09, 2010 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Zombies are invading your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of plants! Armed with an alien nursery-worth of zombie-zapping plants like peashooters and cherry bombs, you'll need to think fast and plant faster to stop dozens of types of zombies dead in their tracks.

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition is a Strategy game released in 2009, priced at $4.99, with an estimated 2,000,000 .. 5,000,000 owners and Overwhelmingly Positive (98% of 156066 reviews).

2,678
playing now
98%
positive of 157k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam's rating (official)
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
80/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
83/100
IGDB user rating (32 ratings)
8h
to beat · completionist 66h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$4.99
steam price (US)

2,678 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 10:00 UTC (census sample)

Plants vs. Zombies is a 2009 tower defense video game developed and published by PopCap Games. First released for Windows and macOS, the game has since been ported to consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices. The player takes the role of a homeowner amid a zombie apocalypse. As a horde of zombies approaches along several parallel lanes, the player must defend their home by placing plants or fungi, which fire projectiles at the zombies, or otherwise detrimentally affect them, or aid the player. The player collects a resource called "sun" to place plants. If a zombie reaches the house on any lane, the player loses the level.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 2,678 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 8,432 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~1,054/week).
  • · Review velocity down 16% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 1% of 14,027 Strategy games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 6.3M–13M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 156,723 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$0.00

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $0.44 at Fanatical (2021-12-21) · bundled 2×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $4.99 · on sale 7 of 8 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
4.1k4.1k20182026Week of 2018-03-01: 180 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 261 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 247 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 170 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 128 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 519 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 223 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 162 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 215 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 121 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 120 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 231 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 1,146 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 1,120 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 276 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 112 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 245 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 907 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 902 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 1,209 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 2,345 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 147 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 3,117 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 153 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 1,834 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 1,330 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 4,095 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 131 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 2,331 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 1,392 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 1,303 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 57 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 980 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 1,373 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 1,570 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 54 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 1,678 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 1,605 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1,297 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 1,291 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 1,483 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1,730 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 2,410 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 2,049 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 1,529 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 1,416 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 2,249 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 2,254 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 2,298 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 2,013 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 2,672 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 1,860 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 2,325 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 1,843 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 1,665 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 2,049 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 1,591 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 1,613 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 3,125 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 3,094 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 63 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 3,402 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 1,812 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 1,630 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 1,529 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 1,273 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 1,545 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 1,755 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 1,912 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 2,047 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 2,004 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 2,750 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 2,021 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 64 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 1,616 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 1,519 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 1,584 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 1,315 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 1,375 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 1,475 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 1,614 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 1,494 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 1,288 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 1,434 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 1,282 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 1,247 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 1,198 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 911 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 1,017 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 913 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 984 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 1,104 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 1,183 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 1,350 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 957 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 1,599 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 1,584 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 1,093 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 1,043 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 891 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 994 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 1,021 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 1,169 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 1,089 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 1,116 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 1,091 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2026-09-01: 878 positiveWeek of 2026-09-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2026-10-01: 237 positiveWeek of 2026-10-01: 10 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

3.7k1.4k2026-09-14 19:00 — 1,659 players2026-09-16 04:00 — 2,151 players2026-09-17 11:00 — 2,968 players2026-09-18 19:00 — 1,786 players2026-09-20 02:00 — 2,175 players2026-09-21 10:00 — 2,725 players2026-09-22 17:00 — 1,860 players2026-09-24 01:00 — 1,829 players2026-09-25 08:00 — 3,129 players2026-09-26 16:00 — 2,958 players2026-09-27 23:00 — 1,599 players2026-09-29 07:00 — 2,416 players2026-09-30 14:00 — 3,314 players2026-10-01 22:00 — 1,480 players2026-10-03 05:00 — 2,921 players2026-10-04 14:00 — 3,692 players2026-10-05 21:00 — 1,560 players2026-10-07 05:00 — 2,491 players2026-10-08 12:00 — 3,128 players2026-10-09 20:00 — 1,700 players2026-10-11 03:00 — 2,669 players2026-10-12 11:00 — 2,929 players2026-10-13 18:00 — 1,751 players2026-10-14 10:00 — 2,678 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
6.1k248Jul 2012Aug 2026Jul 2012 — avg 1,391 · peak 2,700Dec 2012 — avg 591 · peak 1,690May 2013 — avg 423 · peak 705Oct 2013 — avg 368 · peak 964Mar 2014 — avg 440 · peak 924Aug 2014 — avg 339 · peak 543Jan 2015 — avg 379 · peak 697Jun 2015 — avg 512 · peak 1,548Nov 2015 — avg 305 · peak 496Apr 2016 — avg 324 · peak 536Sep 2016 — avg 308 · peak 492Feb 2017 — avg 600 · peak 1,651Jul 2017 — avg 574 · peak 997Dec 2017 — avg 529 · peak 831May 2018 — avg 484 · peak 701Oct 2018 — avg 526 · peak 1,317Mar 2019 — avg 610 · peak 943Aug 2019 — avg 1,045 · peak 1,818Jan 2020 — avg 1,662 · peak 5,058Jun 2020 — avg 3,652 · peak 6,962Nov 2020 — avg 1,694 · peak 3,663Apr 2021 — avg 2,003 · peak 3,472Sep 2021 — avg 3,231 · peak 6,083Feb 2022 — avg 3,695 · peak 6,530Jul 2022 — avg 3,438 · peak 5,908Dec 2022 — avg 5,169 · peak 16,225May 2023 — avg 3,195 · peak 6,082Oct 2023 — avg 6,083 · peak 13,159Mar 2024 — avg 3,503 · peak 6,318Aug 2024 — avg 3,105 · peak 4,934Jan 2025 — avg 2,616 · peak 4,103Jun 2025 — avg 2,520 · peak 3,937Nov 2025 — avg 2,930 · peak 4,661Apr 2026 — avg 2,437 · peak 3,963Aug 2026 — avg 2,654 · peak 4,187
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

PositiveNegative
46462026-09-212026-10-132026-09-21: 37 new positive2026-09-21: 2 new negative2026-09-22: 15 new positive2026-09-22: 1 new negative2026-09-23: 12 new positive2026-09-24: 11 new positive2026-09-24: 1 new negative2026-09-25: 17 new positive2026-09-25: 2 new negative2026-09-27: 20 new positive2026-09-28: 20 new positive2026-09-28: 1 new negative2026-09-29: 35 new positive2026-09-29: 1 new negative2026-09-30: 28 new positive2026-09-30: 1 new negative2026-10-01: 18 new positive2026-10-01: 2 new negative2026-10-02: 27 new positive2026-10-02: 2 new negative2026-10-03: 20 new positive2026-10-04: 34 new positive2026-10-04: 2 new negative2026-10-05: 29 new positive2026-10-05: 2 new negative2026-10-06: 46 new positive2026-10-06: 1 new negative2026-10-07: 32 new positive2026-10-07: 2 new negative2026-10-08: 32 new positive2026-10-09: 30 new positive2026-10-09: 1 new negative2026-10-10: 24 new positive2026-10-10: 1 new negative2026-10-11: 23 new positive2026-10-11: 3 new negative2026-10-12: 35 new positive2026-10-13: 24 new positive2026-10-13: 2 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$9.99$0.002015-01-012026-10-082015-01-01 — best price $2.492015-03-05 — best price $6.492015-05-01 — best price $6.952015-05-23 — best price $6.492015-06-16 — best price $2.492015-09-08 — best price $2.492015-12-01 — best price $4.992016-02-02 — best price $2.492016-06-10 — best price $1.242016-10-28 — best price $0.992017-01-02 — best price $4.992017-10-26 — best price $0.992018-01-04 — best price $4.992018-06-21 — best price $1.242018-11-21 — best price $1.242019-02-11 — best price $4.992019-08-09 — best price $4.992020-01-02 — best price $4.992020-06-04 — best price $0.992020-09-04 — best price $4.892020-11-02 — best price $4.992021-01-05 — best price $4.992021-06-10 — best price $0.992021-07-29 — best price $9.992021-10-05 — best price $4.492021-11-02 — best price $9.992021-12-01 — best price $4.492022-01-26 — best price $4.992022-02-15 — best price $9.992022-06-07 — best price $0.992022-08-16 — best price $0.992022-11-22 — best price $0.992023-01-19 — best price $0.992023-04-13 — best price $4.992024-08-05 — best price $4.492026-09-03 — best price $0.002026-10-08 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

5532972026-05-29 — 553 pageviews2026-06-02 — 389 pageviews2026-06-06 — 334 pageviews2026-06-10 — 407 pageviews2026-06-14 — 365 pageviews2026-06-18 — 353 pageviews2026-06-22 — 394 pageviews2026-06-26 — 364 pageviews2026-06-30 — 348 pageviews2026-07-04 — 369 pageviews2026-07-08 — 361 pageviews2026-07-12 — 364 pageviews2026-07-16 — 343 pageviews2026-07-20 — 319 pageviews2026-07-24 — 328 pageviews2026-07-28 — 308 pageviews2026-08-01 — 302 pageviews2026-08-05 — 313 pageviews2026-08-09 — 372 pageviews2026-08-13 — 351 pageviews2026-08-17 — 379 pageviews2026-08-21 — 389 pageviews2026-08-25 — 405 pageviews2026-08-29 — 356 pageviews2026-09-02 — 329 pageviews2026-09-06 — 359 pageviews2026-09-10 — 334 pageviews2026-09-14 — 320 pageviews2026-09-18 — 330 pageviews2026-09-22 — 347 pageviews2026-09-26 — 374 pageviews2026-09-30 — 364 pageviews2026-10-04 — 367 pageviews2026-10-07 — 359 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

21
achievements tracked
81.6%
earned "SPUDOW! "
18.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSSingle-playerSteam AchievementsRemote Play on PhoneRemote Play on TabletFamily Sharing

1 supported languages: English

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

2DCuteFunnyCasualComedyPuzzleClassicZombiesStrategySurvival

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Breach & ClearStar Control®: OriginsImagine EarthMiscreatedDead AgeMedieval Kingdom WarsForce of NatureDesperados III

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗