For the first time in over a decade, a new video game using the Backyard Sports IP will be released in July, as Backyard Baseball is still set for a July 9 release. But when the game does go live, it won’t have one promised feature: online multiplayer.

No online multiplayer at launch

On a message via the Steam Community board, the Backyard Baseball team indicated that online multiplayer will not be available when the game releases on July 9.

Playground Productions noted in its statement that the development team has poured significant effort with respect to detail & care. And in light of that, it was indicated by the Backyard Sports team that the working online experience “wasn’t yet meeting the standard we’ve set for the rest of the game.”

It was reiterated that online multiplayer will be available in the game at some point — just not when it launches in July.

This is not the first time that Playground Productions has run into trouble with online multiplayer functionality. Mega Cat Studios, which worked on the Backyard Baseball ’01 re-release, did not have official online multiplayer, as it was unable to get that going due to source code troubles.

However, this is a bit different, given that this is a fresh game.

Playground Productions noted that Backyard Baseball can still be fully enjoyed in a fully offline, single-player experience. This is, based on their words, thanks to pick-up games, seasons, plus achievements, and the ability to collect baseball cards of the kids in the game.

Aside from no online multiplayer, another thing to note is that Backyard Baseball will be released solely on PC come July 9. A Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S release was confirmed earlier this year. However, no date has been confirmed yet.

Check out more of our gaming coverage.