MLB The Show 26 Release Date Revealed With Aaron Judge as Cover Athlete

January 27, 2026, 12:26pm

The release date for MLB The Show 26 has today been announced alongside the first details for the annualized baseball sim. Within the past day, developer San Diego Studio made waves when it announced that this year’s MLB The Show entry would not feature a new cover athlete. This news surprised many fans and led some to believe that the game could go without featuring a current (or former) MLB player for the first time ever. Now, in the wake of a new announcement today, we know specifically why the studio made this tease.

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Revealed in an initial trailer, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge was shown to be gracing the cover of MLB The Show 26. This marks the second time that Judge has appeared on a cover for the series, previously having been on the box art for MLB The Show 18. As such, San Diego Studio’s promise that a “new” athlete would not be featured on MLB The Show 26 was technically correct.

As for the details on the game itself, MLB The Show 26 is set to release on March 17th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms. Those who purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game will then be granted early access four days ahead of time on March 13th. Curiously, a Switch 2 version of MLB The Show 26 has not been announced, nor has a PC edition, much to the dismay of fans.

3X AL MVP ✅ ️2X #MLBTheShow cover athlete ✅
Welcome back, Aaron Judge! @TheJudge44 @Yankees @Yankees_Beisbol pic.twitter.com/2l0kOAt7Nu
— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 27, 2026

Currently, San Diego Studio hasn’t provided much information on what will be included in MLB The Show 26. San Diego Studio did confirm that the popular World Baseball Classic slate of content will be coming back to Diamond Dynasty this year in advance of the tournament taking place in March. It’s not yet known what this will fully encompass, but this WBC offering in Diamond Dynasty ended up being hugely popular when it was featured in MLB The Show 23.

Fortunately, for those wanting more information on MLB The Show 26, you won’t have to wait long. The first gameplay trailer for this entry is set to drop next week on February 3rd and will give us a better idea of what overhauls are being made this year. Be sure to check back in with our coverage here on ComicBook at that time as we’ll be sure to bring you all of the latest news about MLB The Show 26 as we learn more.

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