Get ready to step back onto plate! Playground Productions has just announced thatBackyard Baseball 2001, a classic sports game, will return on July 13, 2025. Last year, Backyard Baseball ‘97 was relaunched on Steam and just this March, it became the#1 game in sports, family, and kids categories oniOS.
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The franchise is gearing up for another comeback with the 2001 edition tobring back the nostalgic magicthat captured the hearts of young gamers back in the early aughts. With 28 of the original 31MLB prosreturning to the roster including legends like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, this remaster hopes to strike gold for another chance to top the charts.
What is Backyard Baseball?
Remember when sports games didn’t take themselves too seriously? When there’s no VC and overly complicated long grinds just to hit a couple of points, so your character can make threes? That’s the era when Backyard Baseball was first introduced. Originally launched in 1997 for PC and Mac, this kid-friendly series turned pro baseball players into Nickelodeon-style cartoon visuals playing pickup games in neighborhood parking lots. The franchise eventually expanded to consoles likePlayStation, GameCube and Game Boy Advance, and was a successful game in the 2000s.
More than two decades later, the series has been relaunching their games on modern systems. Here’s a history of recent Backyard Relaunches:
Star-Studded Return
We’re honored to partner with MLB to bring this iconic game to modern gaming devices for the first time. Backyard Baseball ‘01 was a game-changer in many ways—introducing some of the sport’s biggest legends into the Backyard universe
Mega Cat Studios, the developer behind the successful relaunches of the Backyard series, is once again at the helm of this project. This time, they’re taking the game alongside an impressive roster of Hall of Famers. Here’s the list of all the confirmed stars we know are coming back to Backyard Baseball ‘01 and their career highlights, and championship teams:
Stars Coming to Backyard Baseball
Career Highlights
Derek Jeter
14x All Star, 5x World Series Champion (1996, 1998–2000, 2009 New York Yankees)
Alex Rodriguez
14x All Star, World Series Champion (2009 New York Yankees)
Sammy Sosa
7x All Star
Mark McGwire
12x All Star, 2x World Series Champion (1989 Oakland Athletics, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals)
Cal Ripken, Jr.
19x All Star, World Series Champion (1983 Baltimore Orioles)
Coming to the Plate July 8
Backyard Baseball ‘01 arrives on July 02, 2025 for Steam, iOS andAndroid, complete with that roster of Hall of Fame legends and official MLB licensing. In a gaming genre dominated by AAA titles and monetization, this remaster of a classic offers something refreshing and is a reminder that sometimes the best games are the ones that just let you play ball.
Backyard Baseball 2001
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