MLB The Show 21 will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch. The news is a surprising development for Microsoft’s subscription platform considering that the game is published by Sony.
Last month, Sony announced that it would release the series on Xbox consoles for the first time ever. The Xbox Game Pass addition now takes that deal even further, showing that Sony is doubling down on the cross-platform launch.
MLB The Show 21 launches on April 20 and will be on Game Pass day one. It will be available on the console version of the service, but not PC. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can play the game using Microsoft’s cloud gaming service as well.
It’s a significant move that’s sure to leave fans with many questions. A Sony published game coming to Game Pass is unprecedented and could indicate that Sony is ready to play ball with other platforms. In the past, the company was notoriously reluctant when it came to cross-play between other platforms, opening it up to developers late in the PS4’s lifespan. The news shows how far the company has come from that point.
The decision may have less to do with Sony and more to do with the MLB. In Microsoft’s announcement post, the company doesn’t namecheck Sony at all when talking about the deal.
“As we said from the beginning, this is an incredible moment for all of us and bringing the franchise to more players and baseball fans is something that we at MLB, MLB Players, Inc., and Xbox are all excited about,” says Microsoft.
MLB The Show 21 is out PlayStation and Xbox on April 20 and will feature cross-play and cross-progression between platforms.
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