Microsoft has announced that MLB The Show 21 will be available on Xbox Game Pass when it releases on April 20, giving the game a huge potential player-base right out of the gate. Subscribers can play the game for no extra charge across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and on Android phones with Xbox Cloud Streaming (for Ultimate subscribers).
The Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S standard editions will be available on Game Pass, but not the more expensive premium editions that come with extra goodies. Because PlayStation doesn't support Game Pass, PS4 and PS5 players will still need to pay full price for the game.
"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," Microsoft said in a statement.
After years of exclusivity on PlayStation, The Show is headed to Xbox for the first time in 2021 thanks to an agreement between Microsoft, Sony, and Major League Baseball. The game is developed by PlayStation Studios, and it's the company's first-ever release on an Xbox platform.
Sony previously announced that it would donate $1 to the Jackie Robinson Foundation for every copy sold in the US through the end of 2021 for the game's Collector's edition, Jackie Robinson Edition, and Jackie Robinson deluxe edition, as well as the digital deluxe edition. With the game being available on Xbox Game Pass for no extra charge, this would seemingly limit the potential donation amount beyond what would have been possible otherwise. We've followed up with Microsoft in an attempt to get more details on this.
MLB The Show launches on April 20, but you can start playing four days earlier if you buy one of the more expensive editions, so Xbox fans will need to pay extra or wait four days to get it on Xbox Game Pass. Slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. is on the cover of MLB The Show 21, while we recently learned a series of baseball legends like Pedro Martinez, Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth, and Chipper Jones will be featured in MLB The Show 21.
For more games to play on Xbox One or Xbox Series X this month, check out our guides to the best Xbox One games of all time and the best Xbox Series X games available so far. Plus, Game Pass subscribers should check out the best games available with Xbox Game Pass right now. To play those games and take advantage of this month's Games with Gold freebies, new subscribers can get their first month for $1.
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