MLB The Show 21 gets release date, crossplay support between PlayStation and Xbox

By Giovanni Colantonio February 1, 2021

MLB The Show 21 is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on April 20. Formerly a PlayStation exclusive, the baseball title will feature crossplay and cross-progression across Sony and Microsoft consoles.

The standard edition of the game, which comes with 5,000 stubs, retails for $60 on PS4 and Xbox One and $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Players will not be able to upgrade the standard edition from last-gen to current-gen PlayStations.

In 2019, the Major League Baseball announced that it signed a multiyear extension with Sony to continue the series. The announcement revealed that the game would come to other consoles as early as 2021. The 2020 edition skipped Xbox One, but will now launch on both past- and current-generation Xboxes.

PlayStation and Xbox owners will be able to play with one another and even carry save data between systems. That’s a significant development for Sony, which has historically been resistant to crossplay support in the past.

Sony revealed this year’s cover star as well, San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatís Jr. Tatís debuted in the MLB in 2019 and was instrumental in the Padres advancing in its 2020 Wild Card series thanks to a pair of game-winning home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sony will reveal a collector’s edition of the game on Wednesday February 3. Sony implies that a PS5 upgrade will only be available through this edition, saying: “If you are interested in having access to the game on both current and next-gen platforms, please wait for more info about the collector’s edition.”

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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