After leaked box art this weekend, PlayStation Studios and San Diego Studio’s MLB The Show 21 has been officially announced, coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S with full cross-play and cross-progression for all platforms.
PlayStation paired the announcement with the reveal of the cover athlete, San Diego Padres player Fernando Tatis Jr, and a release date of April 20, 2021 on all platforms.
MLB The Show launches day and date on PS4 and PS5 with cross-platform play on @Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 1, 2021
Sony also shared a quick exciting trailer for the reveal featuring Tatis Jr. talking about how the rules of baseball have changed.
MLB The Show 21 will also come with a price increase on new-gen platforms. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S standard editions will run 69.99 USD/$89.99 CAD/£69.99 GBP/€79.99 EUR MSRP while the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One standard editions will launch at the expected $59.99 USD/$79.99 CAD/£59.99 GBP/€69.99 EUR MSRP.
MLB The Show coming to Xbox should come as no surprise. It was announced back in December 2019 that future iterations of the PlayStation-exclusive franchise would come to other platforms. What’s most surprising is the integration of full cross-play and cross-progression for all platforms and generations that will allow players to jump back and forth and play anywhere with very few roadblocks. The one caveat is purchased Stubs, which remain on the original platform that you purchase them on.
A number of different editions will net players bonus items on release. All preorders get one Gold Choice Pack. The standard edition on last-gen consoles includes 5,000 Stubs, while the next-gen console standard editions include both 5,000 stubs and 10 The Show Packs.
Unfortunately there is no upgrade path from last-gen to next-gen with the standard editions, however. It’s hinted by Sony that the Collector’s Edition, set to be revealed on February 3rd, will include access to both generations, but we’ll have to wait for that full reveal on Wednesday to find out all of the details.
Leading up to the April 20th release, Sony is planning six premieres to showcase new features and ways that they are changing the game in MLB The Show 21. The first one is scheduled to go live in March.
MLB The Show 21 releases on April 20th, 2021 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
