Nostalgia runs deep for many gamers, thanks to the countless memories that lifelong fans of the hobby have made early in their lives. A series that means quite a bit to me, Backyard Baseball, is back in the spotlight thanks to some great remasters from Mega Cat Studios and Playground Productions. With successful re-releases of some of the series’ most memorable games, we now know that Backyard Baseball ‘01 is next on deck for a July 8th release on Steam and mobile devices. Here’s what we know from the new announcement, including which MLB stars will be returning to the remaster.

Mega Cat Studios, which developed the other Backyard games relaunched over the past year with Playground Productions, will develop ’01 as well. As you likely gleaned from our site’s Backyard Baseball ’97 review, the response to bringing these nostalgic titles to new consoles and PC went over very well. Similarly to the ’97 remaster, Backyard Baseball ’01 will see both touch and modern PC controls come to the classic experience. As part of the announcement, 28 of the original 31 MLB Pros are returning to the game, including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Cal Ripken, Jr.

A brief history of Backyard Baseball can’t be told without the massive improvement that real-life MLB stars brought to the game. There is a great deal to coordinate when licensing modern athletes for video games, let alone classic stars who may have varying levels of comfort staying in the limelight all these years later. MLB’s Senior Vice President, Gaming & Virtual Reality, Jamie Leece, explained in the announcement press release that this new title is a “full circle moment where those who played this beloved game as children can bring it to a new generation in their families and friends.

In mid-June, Backyard Baseball ’97 arrived on the PS5 and Nintendo Switch, preceded by a PC remaster of the title in October and Backyard Soccer ’98, which came to Steam in November. The March release of Backyard Baseball ’97 led to the game earning the #1 spot on the iOS store for games in sports, family, and kids categories. Backyard Baseball ‘01 arrives on July 8th on Steam and mobile devices. Let us know in the comments if you have any fond memories of this entry in the series!

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!


Discover more from Phenixx Gaming

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.