Plants vs Zombies 2 Downloaded Nearly 25 Million Times, Underscores Appeal of Freemium Model

Not a fan of the freemium game model? Unfortunately for you, there's plenty of incentive for developers of casual games to go this route. PopCap Games, for example, found nearly 25 million reasons with the release of Plants vs. Zombies 2, the sequel to the highly popular Plants vs. Zombies tower defense game.

"Plants vs. Zombies 2 has smashed records and been downloaded nearly 25 million times by players around the globe," PopCap Games bragged in a blog post. "Downloads for Plants vs. Zombies 2 have exceeded total downloads for Plants vs. Zombies, the original favorite from 2010. Our fans have been loving the sequel, giving it an App Store rating of 4.5/5 stars."

Plants vs Zombies 2

That's an impressive figure for a title that's barely been on the market for a week. What it boils down to is massive incentive for developers like PopCap Games to go the freemium route rather than charge a nominal fee for a casual title. Not all of those 25 million downloads will translate into in-game income, but you can bet there will be some big money made.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 is free to download, though you can spend money upgrading your defenses. You can buy individual plants for $3 to $4 apiece, buy coin packs, and more. One of the top in-app purchases on iTunes is the 20,000 pack for $10.