In 2016, Electronic Arts was developing a spin-off for Plants vs Zombie, which it canceled to develop a Star Wars project, which it later also canceled
As it turned out, in 2016 Electronic Arts was developing another PvZ, which was later canceled to develop a game based on the Star Wars universe, but this game was also canceled.
What is known
In the second half of 2016, a small development team at PopCap Vancouver was preparing for a presentation that would determine the future of the team, the project, and their beloved Plants vs Zombie franchise.
For the past year, they have been working on a new game based on Plants vs Zombies that would take the series in a different direction. The team had approval from EA, but it did not guarantee that the project would be released. The project was codenamed Hot Tub (which is a reference to the 2010 film "Hot Tub Machine"). It was planned as an "open corridor" game, as it is done in Uncharted, and a combat system similar to Batman: Arkham Knight, but with an overall atmosphere from Ratched or Clank.
In the center of the plot was a pair of teenagers who got back in time as a result of a failed experiment, which was spoiled by zombies. They teamed up with plants familiar to us from previous games in the series to fight the "walking dead" in different eras of history. The project should be a serious step for the development of the series, which was previously positioned as Tower Defense.
The release was planned for 2017, but, as we already know, it never happened. And, apparently, there was no sharp reason for its cancellation: the project did not have many bugs, had no budget problems, missed deadlines or any problems at all. But sometimes it happens that games are canceled for no reason, and this seems to be our case.
According to IGN's research, the game was canceled to build up the strength and resources to develop a new project based on the George Lucas universe.
During the development of Project Hot Tub, several developers were sent to the company's headquarters in Redwood to present their work to CEO Andrew Wilson. The presentation was prepared in advance, as the developers had to show that they had every chance to make a successful project.
The presentation took place, and the company representatives even liked it. However, suddenly, a few days later, the Hot Tub developers were informed that their project was being closed, and the development team would be transferred to a much larger EA project, which was a game from Visceral based on Star Wars. But it was also canceled a year after that, and the former members of Hot Tub dispersed to numerous internal studios of the publisher.
Source: IGN
