Nearly six years after its closure, gaming TV channel G4 could be making a return next year along with its classic shows like X-Play.
The X-Play Twitter account posted a short teaser video today, featuring a game of Pong being played in a dormant warehouse. The G4 logo flashes, then shows the date 2021, along with the tagline “we never stopped playing.” The video was also posted by the Twitter accounts for G4 and Attack of the Show.
Originally known as G4techTV, the NBC Universal-owned channel became known as G4 in 2005. The network featured tons of gaming, tech, and nerd-centric content, like the game review show X-Play starring Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, and Attack of the Show with Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira.
The re-launch of G4 and some of its shows seemed to come as a surprise to a few of its former stars. Adam Sessler tweeted that @xplay was a Twitter account he “didn’t expect to see again,” and Morgan Webb said she was “just impressed someone remembered the password” to the account.
G4 was also home to live E3 coverage before it was as readily available and accessible in the livestreaming world we live in today. It was a big entry point for many gamers.
Other programs, like the multiplayer gaming competition show Arena, helped usher in the age of esports. In the show, two teams of four players faced off against each other in various competitive games.
The network eventually closed at the end of 2014, but today’s video makes it seem like it’s ready to hit the airwaves again next year. It’s unclear, however, if it’ll be a TV channel, a livestreaming service, or just a Twitch and YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, another gaming network is due to launch next week. VENN will stream on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Gaming, and more. It’s described as a “24/7 TV Network for Gaming & Pop Culture.”
Update July 24 1pm CT: Journalist Rod “Slasher” Breslau is reporting that G4TV is coming back via Comcast and Spectacor Gaming President Tucker Roberts. Roberts oversees T1, T1 League of Legends, and the Philadelphia Fusion.
