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It appears we have our first confirmation that MLB The Show 21 will be releasing on Xbox systems this year. Box art for the game has leaked, and it shows the PS5 and Xbox One versions of the game complete with the PlayStation logo. This must be how Mario and Sonic felt when they finally teamed up for the Olympics.
The covers, which Sony has yet to officially confirm, feature San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. He was in the running for the National League’s MVP award in 2020 during the shortened season, and The Show franchise has sometimes given rising superstars an opportunity to grace the cover in the past. It hasn’t always gone the way Sony probably hoped, such as when Yasiel Puig was the 2015 star and ended up with one of the worst seasons of his career.
At least for the Xbox version, it doesn’t appear it will be eligible for a free next-gen upgrade. The box art only lists the Xbox One, though we presume there will also be an Xbox Series X|S version. It would certainly be a little bit of a flex for Sony to only offer the “best” version of the game on its own system.
Sony first announced in late 2019 that it was ending PlayStation exclusivity for MLB The Show. At the time, it said 2021 would be the earliest for the series to expand to other platforms, and both Phil Spencer and the Nintendo of America Twitter accounts praised this move. It’s unclear if this year’s game will also be coming to Nintendo Switch.
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We’ll know for sure if the leak was correct by February 1. Sean Evans and Hot Ones will unveil the cover and interview its start during a special episode of the show. Fernando can take the heater, but can he handle the heat?
This would be the first time a baseball simulation game came to Xbox or Nintendo platforms in nearly a decade. The MLB 2K series received mixed-to-negative reviews over its last few years, ultimately culminating in it being canceled as Take-Two focused efforts on the NBA 2K series. After this point, Xbox players only had the RBI Baseball series to play. These were arcade-style and arguably worse than the 2K games.
