New ‘Backyard Sports’ Game in the Works

A new installment of the “Backyard Sports” video game franchise is in the works. The project is one of multiple ideas in development from “Backyard Sports” rights holder Playground Productions, which is also considering a TV series or film adaptation of the iconic ’90s title.

The untitled game is described as “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.”

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The next-gen “Backyard Sports” game will be developed by Mega Cat Studios with heavy involvement from Playground Productions founder and CEO Lindsay Barnett and chief product officer Chris Waters.

“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,” Barnett said. “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.”

Playground Productions has been steadily revitalizing the “Backyard Sports” brand with the October re-launch of “Backyard Baseball ‘97,” which is now a global top selling sports game on Steam, and next up the re-release of “Backyard Soccer ‘98” on Nov. 27. Additional upcoming game relaunches include “Backyard Football ‘99,” “Backyard Basketball ‘01,” “Backyard Baseball ‘01” and “Backyard Hockey ‘02.”

Additionally, several of the classic “Backyard Sports” titles are being developed into mobile game format by Playground Productions and Mega Cat Studios.

“When Lindsay and I first talked about this franchise, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to know more about Pablo and Keisha and Kenny and Pete and Sonny and all the characters,'” Waters said. “So we are deep into development in terms of bringing these things back from a storytelling standpoint. We started that with the comic strips on our social media, which our fans all do caption contests for. And we’re going to expand that into actual animation, both for digital and TV and film. So all those things are being actively thought about and developed — but really the focus is make a great game and bring back the games on as many platforms as we can.”