PAX West 2026 - Backyard Baseball: A Classic Is Back

There's been a strange phenomenon happening in the games industry over the last decade or so. Slowly but surely, we have seen an erosion of titles specifically aimed at kids. I'm well aware that titles like Fortnite and Roblox are predominantly played by children, but they aren't marketed squarely towards them, nor do they seem entirely built (or completely safe) for the kids that tend to play them. It seems like a lifetime ago now that studios and publishers (other than Nintendo, of course) put time and effort into creating kid-friendly, appropriate, family titles.

One kids' series that dominated the late 90s and early 2000s was the Backyard Sports titles, originally developed by Humongous Entertainment in 1997. Backyard Baseball was one of the series' biggest hits, and aside from a mobile game in 2015, it hasn't seen a console release for 16 years. Mega Cat Studios sought to break that streak with the new Backyard Baseball, released in July of 2026, and I was lucky enough to hang out at their booth at PAX West to discuss the game's revival and what drew them to it in the first place.

First off, anyone who played the Backyard Sports series growing up knows one name reigns supreme over all others; one player that siblings fought over, who brought dread when he stepped up to the plate – Pablo Sanchez. Mega Cat Studios knew full well his infamy, as a cosplayer in a comically huge Pablo suit sauntered around their booth, taking pictures, signing autographs, and allowing those of us who grew up with him to be overcome with nostalgic emotion. Their whole booth exuded this kind of energy and excitement for the series, with a bright yellow exterior, tons of beautifully drawn graphics showcasing the classic characters, and swag including baseball cards of the kids.

My brother and I took up our controllers to give the new game a try, and suddenly we were kids again, bickering in my parents' house about who gets to have Pablo and which field to play on. First batter on my brother's team? Pablo Sanchez. First pitch? Knocked it out of the park. 20 years later and Pablo is still the MVP. 20 years later, I'm still the little brother who doesn't get him on his team. While history repeated itself and my older brother wiped the floor with me in front of everyone at PAX, I took stock of the quality of this new iteration of Backyard Baseball.

The gameplay was extremely reminiscent of the GameCube version, which surely wasn't by accident. According to Mega Cat Studios, they wanted to modernize the controls of the older titles while keeping the charm and individual feel the series is known for. There are plenty of fields to choose from, spanning regular ballparks to alleyways with obstacles like buildings to prevent foul balls and change the trajectory needed for home runs. Each player has their own stats, signifying specific strengths and weaknesses, useful for creating the team you want and finding players that work for each situation. On top of everything else, I was excited to find that you can now customize your bats.

The Backyard Sports series petered out right around the time I had personally outgrown them, so I didn't clock its absence until I received the email inviting me to try it this year at PAX. I was surprised by how overjoyed I felt at their return, giving families the ability to sit down and enjoy games together without worrying about questionable content. Mega Cat Studios did a great job bringing this series back to life, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

Backyard Baseball was released in July of this year for Steam and macOS, with a full console suite release planned later. I highly recommend giving it a go here, especially if you have younger children at home who are interested in baseball.

And thus, my coverage of the PAX West 2026 show floor has finally come to an end. Anyone who is an avid reader of SUPERJUMP knows that my coverage has been consistent for the last five years, with my journey into convention coverage starting during COVID. During that time, I have seen PAX blossom into a massively anticipated event, worthy of all of the developers, cosplayers, streamers, publishers, and merchants that call it home when September rolls around.

I have played huge genre-defining hits like Mouthwashing and The Mortuary Assistant before they were finished. I have talked to some of the best, brightest, and most passionate people in this wonderful industry. I am forever grateful to the showrunners at PAX and the excellent people at SUPERJUMP for providing me the opportunities to see this event from the inside, and to all those who have followed my coverage. To be amongst these wonderful people is, without a doubt, one of the coolest and most eye-opening experiences I've had to date.

Which brings me to the unfortunate news: I am relocating out of Seattle at the beginning of next year, and, although it truly breaks my heart, 2026 will be my last year of PAX coverage for the foreseeable future. I want to thank my partner and my brother for coming out and helping to see me off on the show floor this year. If I can help it, I will absolutely make my way back to the Emerald City to see more great games, talk to more unbelievable people, and bring coverage of the best and brightest titles. Until then, thank you again, dear reader, for helping make this possible. Keep playing indies!