PopCap Hiring For ‘AAA’ Console Title

PopCap made a name for itself developing wildly addictive titles geared towards the casual audience such as Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, but a job entry spotted by Superannuation suggests that the developer is headed into very different territory.

The job listing, spotted by Superannuation and reported on by Joystiq, says that PopCap is looking to hire an experienced software engineer for a “AAA” title to be released on consoles. What’s more, the job listing suggests that DICE’s popular Frostbite 2 engine may be involved.

The job listing reads:

“The PopCap studio is looking for an experienced generalist SE to build a AAA console title. This generalist will work on a broad range of game systems including, but not limited to: animation, audio, resource management, pipelines and visual effects. The ideal candidate will also have experience working with the Frostbite 2 engine.”

Whether or not PopCap is looking to develop an all-new IP, adapt an existing property, or perhaps transition one of its casual titles into AAA territory is anyone’s guess.

The only title currently known to be in the works at PopCap is Plants vs Zombies 2, the sequel to the studio’s 2009 tower defense-inspired game, Plants vs Zombies. The game was originally released on PC but has since seen a release on just about every platform under the sun.

In 2011, publishing giant Electronic Arts purchased PopCap to the tune of $650 million. Since the acquisition, PopCap laid off a good number of its workers in North America, and the firm shut down its studio in Dublin, Ireland in September.

The move was reportedly part of PopCap’s efforts to focus on mobile and free-to-play games. Taking that into account, this job listing is even more of a surprise.