MLB The Show Is No Longer A PlayStation Exclusive
MLB: The Show is no longer going to be exclusive to PlayStation.
This article is more than 2 years old
Since its release for PlayStation 2 in 2006, MLB: The Show has been the baseball fan’s favorite go-to game series and a sole baseball simulation video game on the market. Now, after over a decade of PlayStation exclusivity, MLB The Show is no longer a PlayStation exclusive, and the franchise is finally coming to Xbox.
IGN reports that Microsoft has confirmed the arrival of MLB The Show 21, the series’ upcoming title, on Xbox Game Pass on its launch day. The game will become available to both PlayStation and Xbox gamers on April 20, 2021. The Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to enjoy the game on their Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles. Besides console-play, Game Pass subscribers with Ultimate membership will be able to play the game on their Android devices via Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming.
MLB The Show 21 will feature cross-platform play and progress, in addition to improved pinpoint pitching and brand new field mechanics and gameplay styles. The cross-platform play will allow players to enjoy the game with their friends, regardless of the console or generation they’re playing on. But that’s not all the news. According to another IGN article, the newest addition to the MLB series might even release for Nintendo Switch, which is on its way to becoming the most popular handheld of all time. Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely due to the game’s launch in less than three weeks. But who knows what the future holds? There still might be hope for Nintendo-owning baseball fans.
Fans of the game are thrilled to see the franchise’s sixteenth entry released on Xbox consoles and cross-platform compatibility between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. MLB: The Show 21 will feature baseball legend Jackie Robinson on the cover of its collector’s edition, with $1 donated to Jackie Robinson Foundation for each copy sold in the US. The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a non-profit organization that gives scholarships to minority youths to pursue higher education. So, good job, Sony.
MLB The Show 21 will be the first-ever MLB game to leave the PlayStation exclusivity since the franchise creation in 1997. Yes, MLB The Show was first released in 2006, but it draws its root from its predecessor, the 989 Sports Major League Baseball series.
The original MLB (Year #) series was Sony’s first Major League Baseball video games series released under Sony’s 989 Sports label for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PSP between 1997 and 2006. MLB 2006 was the series last entry released by Sony’s 989 Sports in 2005. The franchise was rebranded to MLB The Show in 2006, and its first title MLB The Show 06 was released by the franchise’s current developer San Diego Studio – a first-party developer studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment.
So, we stand corrected: After over two decades of exclusivity on PlayStation, the MLB franchise is finally coming to Xbox, and perhaps even other platforms in the future. Did Sony recognize the increasing popularity of the Xbox game console, and decided to cash in on the rise of its rival gaming platform? Whatever the case may be, the MLB: The Show fans don’t care, as long as they get to play their favorite game on more than one console.
