Backyard Baseball Will Feature Trading Cards Designed By Independent Artists—Insider Access

Kids around the world remember what it was like to earn some allowance money, take it down to the local card shop, and buy a new pack of cards to add to their collection. You never knew who you were going to get, or what the cards would look like. It was a joyous feeling every time as you hoped to pull a rare rookie card or even a jersey patch.

Backyard Baseball wants to bring that feeling back.

As part of our Insider Access series that gives you an exclusive first look at a new game or feature, Insider Gaming can exclusively reveal the token reward system for trading cards coming to Backyard Baseball when it releases on PC via Steam on July 9.

Baseball Cards With Hand-Drawn Artwork

For weeks, the Backyard Sports team has been teasing this feature on social media. In various posts featuring the clubhouse, there’s been a jar labeled “TOKENS 4 CARDS”. As you play, whether it be Backyard Derby, Season Mode, or Quick Play, you’ll earn various amounts of tokens. These tokens can then be exchanged for packs of baseball cards.

Now, to be clear, these aren’t microtransaction purchases. Backyard Baseball is a game with zero microtransactions. Instead, everything you unlock and purchase in the game is earned through gameplay and nothing else.

When you get enough Tokens, you’ll be able to buy a pack that features one of four types of cards across three categories—Aces, Speedsteers, and Sluggers. As you buy cards, they will be added to your card binder, each having unique writeups and voice lines.

One of the types of cards, dubbed “REMIX”, is an artist series that reimagines your favorite backyard sports characters in a new style. That style comes from independent artists that Playground Productions has spent months collaborating with. Each design is hand-drawn and unique, and every player has one.

“Backyard Baseball has always celebrated the fun of the sport, and that includes collecting baseball cards,” Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett told Insider Gaming. “The new card-collecting reward system highlights the hand-drawn artwork that has defined the franchise for decades, while encouraging players to explore the game and build their collections along the way.”

Backyard Baseball launches on July 9 for PC. A console release is coming soon after, but a firm date hasn’t been announced.

In other news, read about how Asetek Racing is taking aim at sim racing’s closed ecosystems. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.