PvZ update removes Michael Jackson

Casual games publisher PopCap has confirmed that it will be ditching its use of a zombie character resembling Michael Jackson from future versions of the popular tower defence game Plants vs Zombies.

Pop legend Michael Jackson passed away a little over a year ago, and now the Jackson Estate has demanded that the publisher remove the ‘dancing zombie’ character that was clearly fashioned on Jackson as he appeared in the cult Thriller music video.

The Estate of Michael Jackson objected to our use of the ‘dancing zombie’ in Plants vs Zombies based on its view that the zombie too closely resembled Michael Jackson,” a PopCap spokesperson told MTV Multiplayer.

After receiving this objection, PopCap made a business decision to retire the original ‘dancing zombie’ and replace it with a different ‘dancing zombie’ character for future builds of Plants vs Zombies on all platforms. The phase-out and replacement process is underway.”

Fans of Michael Jackson will later this year be able to play a more official take on the Michael Jackson legacy courtesy of Ubisoft’s dance title Michael Jackson: The Experience.