There are many arguments for the biggest sports franchises in video games.

Madden has a long tradition and is very well known. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” made skateboarding mainstream. “Forza Motorsport” is racing simulation at its best.

Still, nothing puts a smile on a 90s kid’s face like the show “Backyard Sports.”

Originally developed by Humongous Entertainment, the series debuted in 1997 with Backyard Baseball, but later expanded to include other sports such as soccer, football, basketball and hockey. It also introduced kids to iconic characters such as Kenny Kawaguchi, Pete Wheeler, Keisha Phillips and, of course, Pablo Sanchez.

Now kids of all ages can play with these friends again for the first time in nearly a decade.

Playground Productions, a company led by founder and CEO Lindsay Barnett and Chief Product Officer Christopher Waters, has announced that the “Backyard Sports” series will be revived in the coming months.

“We’re incredibly excited to introduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of gamers,” Waters said in a statement. “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 audiences expect. I can’t wait for fans to see what we build on the Playground.”

“Backyard Sports is more than just a game; it’s a cherished part of millions of people’s childhoods,” said Barnett. “I consider media to be the world’s largest classroom, so our goal is to produce meaningful content that not only entertains, but also educates and inspires. The return of Backyard Sports is the perfect embodiment of that goal.”

This new era of backyard sports will extend beyond video games and into movies, television, merchandise and more.

The series’ popularity rose on a wave of nostalgia, with numerous streamers and celebrities playing the title or reminiscing about it. These include Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce in an episode of their “New Heights Podcast.”

“I don’t even know if I want to mention it,” Jason Kelce said. “I’ve been secretly looking to see if anyone owns the rights to Backyard Baseball and Backyard Football because I want to buy them and get this thing going again.”

While Tom Dierberger of Sports Illustrated confirmed that the Kelce brothers have nothing to do with the reboot, there is hope that a number of professional athletes will be included in the games, especially since several “Backyard Sports” titles have featured iconic athletes such as Lisa Leslie, Tom Brady, Cal Ripken Jr. and many more.

It would be amazing to see modern-day superstars like LeBron James, Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes playing in the backyard with all of our childhood favorites.

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