MLB The Show 25 Is Losing a Fan Favorite Perk

MLB The Show 25 is going to be the first game in the series to not have a fan favorite perk since its introduction. MLB The Show is one of the most beloved sports franchises in video games and has been for quite some time. Although 2K gave The Show an earnest run for its money in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the gaming publisher eventually backed out of baseball and doubled down on basketball, allowing The Show basically total control of MLB in gaming. The unfortunate part of all this was it left Xbox without an MLB game and allowed PlayStation to basically have the premiere baseball game all to itself.

However, things changed in 2021 when MLB The Show 21 became the first game in the series to release on something other than PlayStation. It was a huge deal as the game is developed by PlayStation’s San Diego Studio, but MLB wanted to make sure the series became available in as many places as possible. Xbox fans hoped to see the series for years, but everyone knew it was a longshot since it was so intrinsically connected to PlayStation. However, it seems PlayStation and MLB were able to come to some kind of agreement and it resulted in the series making its way to Xbox. Not only was it available on Xbox, but it was a day one Xbox Game Pass title, meaning anyone who had the service got it at no extra cost on release.

MLB The Show 25 Will Not Be on Xbox Game Pass

This trend has continued for the last few years, but sadly, it’s about to come to an end. With the announcement of MLB The Show 25, it has been confirmed that the game will not be available on any subscription services at launch. That means no day one Xbox Game Pass release and everyone who wants to play the game come spring will have to purchase it themselves out of pocket. It’s unfortunate for those on Xbox who have come to expect a great sports game to grind at no extra cost, but it does create an equal playing field for this year’s game across the platforms.

It’s possible Xbox may get it on Xbox Game Pass later such as around the World Series or after the season is over, AKA when the game is winding down support and MLB is gearing up for the next game’s release, but that’s pure speculation. This may be Xbox’s decision as licensing these games for Game Pass is quite costly. While MLB The Show likely does drive quite a bit of subscriptions, Xbox may be trying to be more strategic and focus on older titles or its own first-party games in an effort to cut costs after going on a spending spree the last five years.

Nevertheless, some have hoped this could signal a higher quality game than usual. MLB The Show 25 will be the first game to not be released on PS4 or Xbox One since the current gen consoles released. Some fans hope this means this will result in serious upgrades across the board in terms of content and performance. It’s already been speculated there will be some major changes to Road to the Show such as licensed colleges and playable high school baseball sections as well. Cross-gen releases have also seemingly hurt online play in past years and led to various issues, so MLB The Show 25 may justify its cost.

Either way, MLB The Show 25 will probably lay things out more clearly in the weeks to come. With the cover reveal out of the way, we can expect there to be regular trailers, gameplay deep dives, and maybe even a beta in the imminent future ahead of the game’s highly anticipated launch. MLB The Show 25 is currently slated to release on March 18th, 2025 with early access for Digital Deluxe Edition owners on March 14th on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.