EA’s weird shooter Garden Warfare 2 will offer solo play and Grass Effect character

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will feature solo play in a crazy “backyard battleground,” according to Electronic Arts’ announcement at the Gamescom 2015 press event in Cologne, Germany.

The zany combat shooter is a sequel to the original Garden Warfare, which was a multiplayer-only title. But this one features solo play in a huge backyard, which is a hub where you can do anything you want, including practicing combat or just exploring.

PopCap Games, the EA studio that is making Garden Warfare 2, has also created a spoof of EA’s Mass Effect franchise, with a mech character dubbed Grass Effect.

The aim is to create fun, crazy, and over-the-top experiences that will have you chuckling as you splatter your opponents. The game will debut in spring 2016.

The hub backyard environment connects players to every map and mode, and brings to life all new ways to experience the Plants vs. Zombies universe through solo and social play. As soon as the game starts, players will be immersed in a wild playground with dynamic events and things to discover and do. You can invite up to three friends into your backyard and do what you want.

Fans who pre-order the game will get access to a new Grass Effect Z7-Mech when they start Garden Warfare 2.

Crafted by Dr. Zomboss, and inspired by Mass Effect, this mech will help ensure Zomburbia’s galactic future.

 

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.