It’s the summer for beloved sports video games to return.
First, “College Football 25” came back after more than 10 years off the shelves, and now the famed “Backyard Sports” franchise is making a return.
Playground Productions announced Tuesday the video game series would return, though the company didn’t give a specific date for its launch, only saying in a release that it would be “in the coming months.”
It would mark the first time that the “Backyard Sports” franchise released a new game since 2015, when Fingerprint Network put out “Backyard Sports: Baseball” and “Backyard Sports: Basketball” for iOS and Android devices.
The beloved franchise originally debuted under developer Humongous Entertainment in 1997 with “Backyard Baseball,” and the franchise later expanded to basketball, football, hockey, soccer and skateboarding as its characters became iconic among those who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan, Achmed Khan, Pete Wheeler and Kiesha Phillips are among the most recognizable characters from the video game franchise — all of which were featured in the trailer released Tuesday.
“We’re incredibly excited to reintroduce ‘Backyard Sports’ to a new generation of players,” Playground Productions chief product officer Chris Waters said in a statement, according to Variety. “We’re taking great care to preserve the look and feel that made the original games so special while updating them with modern features and gameplay that today’s audience expects. I can’t wait for fans to see what we’re building on the Playground.”
The “Backyard Sports” franchise was originally released on the computer and then became available on gaming consoles in the years to follow.
“Backyard Sports is more than just a game; it’s a cherished part of childhood for millions of people,” Founder and CEO of Playground Productions Lindsay Barnett said as part of a statement.
Hints had popped up more recently about a potential return of the game before Tuesday’s announcement and trailer release.
Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. even broke out a custom bat with Sanchez on it for a weekend series against the Reds as part of Players’ Weekend.
Earlier this year, the beloved video game series was a topic of conversation for Travis and Jason Kelce on the “New Heights” podcast.
Jason, the former Eagles center, even admitted to “secretly” looking into trying to buy the rights of “Backyard Baseball” and “Backyard Football” in an attempt to relaunch them.
Sports Illustrated reported that Jason was not linked to the reboot being put together by Playground Productions.