If you’re tired of seeing friends and players bragging online about playing Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia early, you’re not alone. You can start playing the game today under certain conditions since it’s in soft launch, but it’s not easy. Here’s how to do it.
How to play Plants vs. Zombies 3 early
Since you’re reading this article, I assume you’ve already checked the Google Play Store or App Store on your device and didn’t find PvZ 3. That’s because the game is only available in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, Philippines, and the Republic of Ireland. This is a soft launch, meaning developers are conducting final tests and adjustments before the global release. If you’re not in one of these countries, you can’t play PvZ 3 through usual methods. However, there are some tricks you can try.
To play PvZ 3 outside of soft launch regions, you can use a VPN on your phone to make the app stores think you are located there instead of where you live. Here’s how:
- Download a VPN on your phone.
- Connect to a VPN server in one of the soft launch countries of your preference.
- Create a new Google account or Apple ID while connected to the VPN.
- Log into this new account, stay connected to the VPN, and search for Plants vs. Zombies 3 in the app store.
- Download the game and keep the VPN connected when you first open it to download any extra required data.
Once you’ve done this, you can play the game even without the VPN. You can find reliable mobile VPN services with free trials directly from your app store. Just be careful with free services, as they don’t offer the same privacy and safety as premium VPNs.
There’s a small chance you still might not be able to download PvZ 3 after the process above. If you see “your device isn’t compatible with this version” or a similar message when trying to install it from the app store, restart your phone and try again. If the issue persists, make sure you have the latest system update installed on your device. If you still can’t download it, the game developer may have placed restrictions on the number of players who can install and play the game, or your device might not be compatible with this soft launch stage. In that case, you’ll likely have to wait until the game’s global release, expected sometime in 2024.
An alternative method worth mentioning, though I recommend against it, is downloading a PvZ 3 APK file from outside of app stores. While this will give you access to the game regardless of your region, it’s the worst way to play because you won’t receive updates and there’s no sure way to verify if the APK file is safe. I highly recommend waiting for the official release and playing any of the other official PvZ games in the meantime.
