New Video Game From ‘Backyard Sports’ Franchise in the Works
By Movieguide® Contributor
The ‘Backyard Sports’ video game franchise from the late ’90s and early 2000s is officially back with a new game now in the works.
“[The new game is] a fresh and exciting take on the classic Backyard games with compatibility and updated features for today’s generation of gamers,” a description of the untitled game says, per Variety. “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.”
Though the Backyard Sports franchise was extremely popular in its heyday, landing partnerships with all the major sports leagues, the series fell silent in the early 2000s. However, in 2015, Playground Productions purchased the rights to the games and has since been working to reboot the franchise.
Bringing the series’ beloved characters to audiences old and new began with the rerelease of all the old games onto Steam, providing players with an official way to enjoy the games on modern hardware. Next came the release of comic strips on social media, providing players with more story and background to the characters.
Playground Productions is now bringing the franchise into a new era with the release of brand-new games along with plans for expanding the franchise into other media forms.
“We have these 30 characters, plus our announcers, that we want to showcase,” Playground Productions chief product officer, Chris Waters told Sports Illustrated. “And so first and foremost, that’s our priority. In terms of other partnerships, whether it’s professional athletes, whether it’s leagues, those are conversations we’re excited to have.”
“We want to make sure that it’s a really authentic experience for our fans,” added the studio’s CEO, Lindsay Barnett. “We also have a good understanding of what people loved about the original games. The greatest road map that we have as producers and creators of this next iteration of this franchise is taking a look at what worked in the past and making it even better for the future.”
The studio hopes to further expand on the characters through shows and movies, bringing the characters from their franchise even more to life.
“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,” Waters said.
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