Since we live in an age where any gaming franchise, or any media franchise in general, can get rebooted, remastered, given a sequel/spiritual successor, or whatever else people can think of to “keep it alive,” anything is possible at any time so long as things line up. We’ve recently talked about the Backyard Sports franchise and how it recently returned to modern gaming via the revivals of old titles on Steam. The original baseball game was brought back and updated in certain ways so that people could enjoy it with one another, and the promise of more games from the iconic franchise would soon join it.
However, as Variety notes, the people who own the rights to the series, Playground Productions, are apparently working on something else. Specifically, they’re working on an entirely NEW Backyard Sports title! That would make it pretty much the first new game in the series in 20 years! Here’s how the team describes the upcoming new game:
“A fresh and exciting take on the classic Backyard games with compatibility and updated features for today’s generation of gamers. The brand new game will feature all the original characters alongside a few new additions as well as embrace the comedy, diversity, accessibility and fun that made the original titles timeless classics. Like the retro titles, the next-gen game can be used as a tool to teach kids sports rules and strategies, but it will also have difficulty levels that are challenging for the original fan base.”
There’s a lot to love in that statement, and one of the ironies is that while they specifically mention the cast’s “diversity,” you could argue that these games had the most diverse lineup in gaming history, representing kids of almost every race while also having kids with different body types and even disabilities.
Playground Productions founder and CEO Lindsay Barnett went on to note:
“We are really excited because basically, we get to take the game that people loved and add new features that are kind of what you remember, falsely remember, perhaps, but add new features that are modernized for the times. And also making it a little more challenging for the adults that loved it and still keeping all of the charm and excitement for the kids who are discovering it.”
If all of that isn’t enough, the franchise might also get the TV/movie treatment, as the crew hopes to adapt the series to animated form! Things are looking up for the backyard kids!
