MLB The Show 21 was April’s bestselling game despite launching on Xbox Game Pass

By Joseph Yaden May 27, 2021

MLB The Show 21 was the bestselling game in the United States during April and set a “new franchise high” in terms of launch month dollar sales. This is notable, as MLB The Show 21 is the first game in the series to appear on the Xbox ecosystem, following 15 years of exclusivity on PlayStation platforms.

The news comes by way of Mat Piscatella of the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Piscatella said MLB The Show 21 not only debuted as the month’s bestselling game, but is now the third-bestselling game of 2021 year to date.

US NPD SW – April 2021 Top 20 Sellers pic.twitter.com/QsHmpjzfaO

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) May 27, 2021

The release of MLB The Show is historic, because it debuted on an Xbox platform, Xbox Game Pass, the same day it was released. Titles downloaded via Game Pass aren’t counted in monthly reports since they aren’t actual sales. Despite this, The Show 21 still managed to become the month’s bestseller, and the second-bestselling game on Xbox platforms, including Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

If you count digital sales and those downloaded through Game Pass, MLB The Show 21 reached a wider audience than ever before. This shows the decision to release the game on other platforms has been a lucrative one for MLB and San Diego Studio.

While the series from Sony-owned San Diego Studio still remains a first-party PlayStation franchise, it will be multiplatform going forward.

Elsewhere in the NPD report, we received word that New Pokémon Snap debuted as the third-bestselling game of the month, Mortal Kombat 11 jumped up to the sixth spot due to the recent release of the new film in the franchise, and Returnal launched as April’s eighth-bestselling game. Hardware sales for the month fell 30% when compared to April of last year, but year to date, hardware sales for 2021 climbed 42% compared to the first four months of 2020.

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Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers loves Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides…

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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is leaving Xbox Game Pass

CJ and Rider walking in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition.

Microsoft's new Xbox Game Pass titles for the month of May include a slew of day one titles across many genres. The service is also losing some heavy hitters, including the recently added Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

San Andreas was only added to the service in November, coinciding with the launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -- The Definitive Edition. The remastered package was heavily criticized at the time for featuring rough ports of the PS2 classics. Rockstar has a history of adding its games to Xbox's service and removing them shortly thereafter, as has been the case with Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 previously.

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The best video games of April 2022

Switch Sports player spiking a volleyball.

April was relatively quiet on the gaming front after a bustling first quarter for video game releases. There were just a couple of notable AAA releases, so indie games had more time to shine. Although April did not have an Elden Ring-level release, plenty of great games still dropped over the past month.
In particular, five video games and one brand new system stand out when looking back at April 2022 If you're wondering what new games there are to play in this slower period, check out these titles.
Nintendo Switch Sports
Nintendo Switch Sports - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch finally got its own Wii Sports successor this month. Nintendo Switch Sports features simplified versions of sports like bowling, soccer, volleyball, badminton, chambara, and tennis that use the Joy-Cons' motion controls and are fun for the whole family. It features full online support and will be updated in the future with new sports, including golf.
"Nintendo Switch Sports is exactly what it needs to be," Digital Trends' Giovanni Colantonio wrote in a three-and-a-half star review for the game. "It’s an intuitive package of Wii-era sports minigames with more precise motion controls and full online integration. Addictive activities like bowling and badminton make it one of the Switch’s best multiplayer party games, though overly complicated minigames like soccer miss the simple appeal of the series."
Wii Sports is one of the most ubiquitous video games out there, so it's good to know that Nintendo Switch Sports lives up to the name, even if it doesn't reinvent the formula. This is not a complex title, but it's the next great multiplayer party game for Nintendo Switch.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The latest Lego title from TT Games has been a long time coming, and its scope matches the development time. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features retellings of all nine classic mainline Star Wars films in a massive game full of large hub worlds based on iconic planets. It doesn't always mesh together well, but there's certainly no shortage of fun to be had here.
"Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the most engaging Lego game in years, thanks to its deeper gameplay and all of the faithfully recreated Star Wars locales that players can explore," I wrote in a three-star review. "But like the protagonists of each Star Wars trilogy, The Skywalker Saga has an identity crisis."
Although I was a little more mixed on the game than some, The Skywalker Saga certainly has its merits and will be a delightful game for kids and families. If you're a die-hard Star Wars fan and plan to spend a lot of time exploring once you get through all nine films, then you'll enjoy Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
MLB The Show 22

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Xbox Game Pass turns mediocre sports games into comfort food

mlb the show 22 xbox game pass comfort food gameplay 2

Most modern sports game franchises have settled into mediocrity. Companies like EA and 2K have found a lucrative formula for franchises like FIFA, Madden, and NBA 2K, so they rarely have to reimagine what those series look like despite some hardcore fans' frustrations. Sony San Diego's MLB The Show series has slowly fallen into the sports game slump in recent years.
While MLB The Show 22 features some new modes, updates to existing ones, and a new commentary team, the gameplay itself doesn't feel like much of an improvement over MLB The Show 21. Despite that, I'm having a great time with it, thanks to Xbox Game Pass. Mediocre sports games are somewhat mindless, enjoyable comfort games for many players like myself. Playing them through Xbox Game Pass ensures I don't feel self-conscious about spending lots of money on a game super similar to a title released 12 months prior.
As long as the series remains on Xbox Game Pass, I doubt I'll ever play MLB The Show on PlayStation again. That said, I'm probably going to continue to play each new installment every year because of the niche it fills on Microsoft's subscription service.
If it ain't broke
Only having some minor adjustments does make a bit of sense as MLB The Show 22 just launched on more platforms than ever. Historically, it was a PlayStation console exclusive series; following a 2019 deal with the MLB, Sony San Diego's baseball titles made it to Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and now Nintendo Switch. When you're focused on expanding your audience and have to make a game in under a year, it makes sense not to introduce any radical changes to core gameplay mechanics and only tweak and add to what's already there.
Admittedly, MLB The Show 22's gameplay is also just in a really good place. The pitching, batting, and fielding all have a lot of depth and different control schemes, even if these mechanics are the same as last year's.
MLB The Show 22 - Cover Athlete Reveal: Defining A Legend - Nintendo Switch
MLB The Show 21 is what got me back into this franchise, after all. When I returned to this series after taking a break from it for several years, I found that MLB The Show games are perfect titles for me to play to relax. It lets me engage with one of my favorite sports without thinking about the game too hard; plus, I get to live out and actively play out the fantasy of the White Sox winning another World Series in my favorite modes like March to October and Franchise.
Although I have a huge backlog, I often gravitate toward sports games like MLB The Show when I'm bored and don't know what to play. There's definitely some value to a game like that, especially on a subscription service.
Game Pass perfection
Like last year's title, MLB The Show 22 is on Xbox Game Pass, and it affirms that sports games are more appealing to me when included in a subscription service. Typically, MLB The Show 22 costs $70 on current-gen consoles. I would not feel comfortable paying that much for an annualized sports game with incremental improvements, but I'm more than willing to have a good time with MLB the Show 22 if it's offered as part of something I'm subscribed to. This speaks to Xbox Game Pass's ability to get me to play games that I might not normally try, even ones developed by its biggest competitor.
Although I won't buy any, Xbox Game Pass MLB The Show 22 players can still purchase microtransaction. They also have access to cross-progression if they buy the game on another platform. Overall, this setup seems like a win-win for players and Sony, especially for a game that would otherwise underwhelm. I now fully understand why MLB pushed the Game Pass deal onto PlayStation: Sports games are great fits for gaming subscription services. Plenty of players like myself would like to sit back, relax, and engage with their favorite sport, but most sports games don't feel worth the full price.

MLB The Show 22 isn't the only game to benefit from Xbox Game Pass; there are plenty of sports games on the service, especially if someone has EA Play via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Of course, there's always the worry that gaming subscriptions will cause developers to start caring more about quantity than quality. MLB The Show 22's situation is an example of why that's something to be worried about in the long term.
For now though, there are still plenty of critically acclaimed games on Xbox Game Pass that I have tried in addition to this guilty pleasure. But if I'm ever bored or stressed and want to play a game to pass the time, MLB The Show 22 will be the first game I'll boot up.