EA and Apple hit back at reports that the games company had received a “truckload of money” to exclusively launch Plants vs Zombies 2 for iOS, ahead of Android availability.

According to website Giant Bomb, Frank Gibeau, head of EA Labels, made the comments in an internal meeting. It noted that such arrangements are not uncommon in the console games industry, where vendors compete fiercely to secure exclusivity on top-tier titles.

But TechCrunch said both had described this as “simply not true”, and that the comment from Gibeau was an off-the-cuff comment taken out of context.

In a statement, EA said: “Reports of a paid relationship between Apple and EA are factually inaccurate.”

According to Distimo’s August 2013 app store analysis, Plants vs Zombies 2, from EA’s PopCap casual gaming unit, was the third most downloaded free app from Apple’s App Store.

EA itself said that the app saw 16 million downloads in the days after its launch, “making it the most successful mobile game launch in EA’s history”, and “one of the biggest opening weekends on the App Store ever for a mobile game title”.

While it is available for iOS and Android in China, its international Android release is still awaited.