“Backyard Sports” is finally back.
Children and family entertainment company Playground Productions announced the official relaunch of the popular sports video game series on Tuesday.
The company released a trailer featuring Pablo Sanchez, Pete Wheeler, Keisha Phillips and other characters from the original “Backyard Sports” series.
Playground Productions said the video game series will be returning “in the coming months.” In addition to the franchise being revived with a video game series, the company also plans to develop “Backyard Sports” merchandise, movies and TV shows.
“We’re excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players,” Playground Productions’ chief product officer Chris Waters said in a statement to Sports Illustrated magazine. “We’ve taken great care to preserve the look and feel that made the original game so special, while updating it with the modern features and gameplay that modern users expect. We can’t wait for fans to see what we’re building with Playground.”
Humongous Entertainment founded Backyard Sports in 1997, and the series has been licensed by major sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA and MLB, and features some of the world’s best athletes acting alongside the “Backyard Kids.” A total of 38 Backyard Sports games have been released to date, with the most recent being a mobile app version in 2015.
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce expressed a desire to acquire the rights to a franchise earlier this year, helping bring the “backyard sport” back into the mainstream.
“I don’t even know if I should tell you this, but I’ve been secretly trying to find out if anyone owns the rights to ‘Backyard Baseball’ and ‘Backyard Football’ because I want to buy them and get this thing going again,” Kelce said on the “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Travis Kelce.
While Kelsey is not directly involved with the rebooted series, Playground Productions says he represents the passionate fanbase.
“While Jason Kelsey was not directly involved in this re-release, he represents the fans who to this day fondly remember Backyard Sports as a classic game with beloved, iconic characters,” a Playground Productions spokesperson told Sports Illustrated. “Like Jason and millions of other fans, Playground Productions recognizes the nostalgia of the series and is excited to bring it back to reach a new generation of players.”