The next Plants vs Zombies game may not be a tower defense fans would expect. Instead, the latest rumor suggests it will be a game unlike anything PopCap has ever done. Various signs and one unnamed source have indicated it could take the series in a multiplayer-action direction, possibly even as a first-person shooter.

It started with a handful of job openings. Supperannuation reported that the new PopCap team at EA Canada Burnaby's campus showed openings for a 3D animator and a multiplayer designer. The candidates are expected to have console experience, and the multiplayer designer is asked to have experience as a level designer on a shooter or action title. Finally, a world modeler asked for experience with "cartoon style and tone."

Then later, an unnamed source in the Canadian industry told Kotaku that the team is working on a multiplayer, first-person console shooter based in the Plants vs Zombies franchise. It may sound crazy, but it fits all the pieces we know. It does raise certain questions, though, like "what?" and "why?" and "how do you make an FPS with one team literally rooted to the ground?"

According to the report, the project will be submitted to PopCap for final approval later this month, at which point it could simply be taken off the company slate. So even if this rumor is true, the game might never see the light of day if PopCap or EA decides to nix it in these early stages. Shacknews has contacted EA and will update as more information becomes available.