G4 TV Gaming Network Set To Return In 2021 After Shutting Down In 2014: "We Never Stopped Playing"

While many have likely all but forgotten it, G4 hinted at a return on Friday for the gaming TV network after reviving old social media accounts and posting a cryptic video with the message of “we never stopped playing” and “2021.” The one-minute teaser was released across G4’s social accounts from Twitter to Facebook, including some of G4TV’s old programs like Attack of the Show.

We never stopped playing. pic.twitter.com/fKJSvL9uaZ

— G4TV (@G4TV) July 24, 2020

As part of an IGN livestream for the Comic-Con@Home event, the short clip featured a slow journey through a warehouse littered with gaming references that ends on a TV displaying a game of Pong with high scores before ending on the old G4 logo. What exactly a G4 return in 2021 will ultimately look like remains to be seen, but it appears the network has plans to renew the brand after shutting down way back in 2014. The G4TV website was similarly updated shortly after the teaser was released.

According to industry insider and reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau, “G4TV is making a come back from Comcast who still own the property, led by Spectacor Gaming President Tucker Roberts who oversees Comcast's esports orgs T1, T1 LoL, and the Philadelphia Fusion OWL team. Tucker is also the son of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.”

G4 tweeting like pic.twitter.com/5CxVF54z8A

— 🌹LZ (@LegacyZeroYT) July 24, 2020

The posts across G4’s social accounts have since received tens of thousands of likes, comments and other forms of engagement, ranging from genuine excitement to confusion or dismissal. Since the video went live late last week, the internet has been eager to speculate on the news of a possible G4 return, with numerous users sharing their favorite moments of the network from its heyday.

So far, the brand appears to have revived the YouTube accounts for G4, Attack of the Show and X-Play, which is unsurprising since those are the channel’s most well-known programs. Former G4 stars and hosts have also been tight-lipped about any information regarding the reboot, although Morgan Webb, Adam Sessler, Kevin Pereira, Sara Underwood and Olivia Munn have each posted about it on their Twitter accounts since last week.

I'm just impressed someone remembered the password to the twitter https://t.co/tZLg4bNBY0

— morganwebb (@MorganWebb) July 24, 2020

On Reddit, news of G4’s return was also widely shared across the platform on multiple subreddits, including /r/g4tv, which doubled in members overnight.

With the modern gaming industry getting it’s entertainment almost exclusively online, especially through streaming platforms like Twitch or YouTube, the likelihood of G4 returning to cable as a more traditional television network is doubtful, so the channel’s big comeback will probably take place online. Nevertheless, only time will tell as 2021 approaches what the future will look like for G4’s revival.