Steam's continuous offer has led to a significant increase in the number of players for Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition. It is the follow-up to 2014's Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare and the fourth game in the well-liked Plants vs. Zombies series.

On 23rd February, 2016, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2's base version was released on  PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In this third-person shooter game, which features single-player, cooperative and multiplayer modes, the player can choose to support the Plants or the Zombies as they battle it out. Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition, which includes extra character varieties, accessories, and more, was released in May 2022 by developer PopCap. It is the only version of the game that can be bought on Steam right now. It has accumulated a sizable Steam player base and is rapidly gaining popularity due to a recent substantial reduction.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition hit a record-breaking 9,086 concurrent players on Steam on 28th July, as reported by PCGamesN (via SteamDB). The zombie game's previous record, set when this specific edition initially launched a few years ago, was surpassed in the process by 4,888 concurrent players. Furthermore, this is only second to 2009's Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year, which peaked at 16,225 players, in terms of concurrent players for a Plants vs. Zombies game on Steam. As of this writing, 7,647 people were actively playing the shooting game on Steam.

Upon deeper examination, the current deal is responsible for the abrupt spike in popularity of Garden Warfare 2, as the zombie game is now available on Steam for just $2.99, a 90% reduction from its previous price. It's interesting to note that the last big increase in Garden Warfare 2's Steam player count coincided with a sales event. In December 2023, the game saw an 80% discount and 3,645 concurrent players. Still, this is the lowest price the Deluxe Edition has ever been available for purchase. The offer discount will expire at 1 PM EDT on 30th July.

Since making its debut in 2009, the Plants vs. Zombies franchise has drawn a large player base and given rise to other titles on various platforms. The most recent game in the series, Plants vs. Zombies 3, was soft-launched for Android and iOS users back in January in a few different areas.