The iconic video game “Backyard Baseball ’97” is making a comeback. Playground Productions and Mega Cat Studios announced Wednesday that a remastered version of the game will be released on October 10 for PC via Steam. The new version promises to bring back the classic gameplay, characters, and nostalgia that made the original a beloved title.
Fans can expect to see their favorite Backyard Sports legends like Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan, Achmed Khan, Pete Wheeler, and Kiesha Phillips. “This was my favorite game growing up,” said Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett. “While we’re already hard at work on the future of Backyard Sports, we first want to honor the past by restoring the games that started it all for me and so many others—beginning with ‘Backyard Baseball ’97’.”
The remastered game will feature enhancements such as Steam achievements and a global leaderboard to track home runs, grand slams, and strikeouts.
However, it will not include current MLB players or team names and logos due to licensing restrictions. Bringing back “Backyard Baseball ’97” was no easy feat. The original source code had been lost since the 1997 release.
Backyard legends return in remaster
Mega Cat Studios had to hack the original CD-ROM and develop new game builds compatible with current generation PCs. “This is just the beginning for Playground Productions and Mega Cat,” said Chris Waters, chief product officer at Playground Productions.
“We’re so proud of the engineers who worked long hours and overcame many obstacles to bring Backyard Baseball ’97 back to the gaming community.”
Currently, the remastered version is only compatible with PC devices. But the companies are working to make future Backyard Sports games available on multiple platforms. “Backyard Baseball ’97” first launched in October 1997 and kicked off the popular Backyard Sports series.
The series later expanded to include other sports like soccer, football, basketball and hockey. Some editions even featured kid versions of professional sports stars. The game will be available for purchase on October 10 for $9.99 via Steam.
Fans can add it to their wish lists now. More updates are expected as the release date approaches.
