MLB The Show 2021 will be free with Xbox Game Pass at launch

MLB The Show 2021 Coming to Xbox Game Pass
(Image credit: Sony)

MLB The Show, a franchise that was previously only available on PlayStation consoles, is now making its way to Xbox. MLB The Show 2021 will be available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One when it launches on April 20. 

The standard edition will also be playable for free through Xbox Game Pass, and with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, players can even enjoy MLB The Show 2021 on their Android devices via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Microsoft managing to bring a Sony-exclusive game onto its platform is already a big deal, but for it to come at no additional cost with Xbox Game Pass seems unprecedented. Sony Interactive Entertainment is still publishing the game, which means when players launch the application on Xbox, they'll likely see some form of Sony or PlayStation logo appear.

This could also be indicative of what we might see in the future. Although MLB The Show 2021 is nowhere near as huge as something like God of War: Ragnarok, Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, or Horizon: Forbidden West, it does lay the foundation for more first-party PlayStation games appearing on Xbox consoles. 

Since GhostWire: Tokyo and Deathloop are also owned by Microsoft and will be appearing on PlayStation 5, it seems like this sort of thing could become more common. However, the circumstances that caused this specific situation has more to do with Microsoft buying out Bethesda after an exclusivity deal was already made with PlayStation, so it could mean nothing in the long run.

Momo Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Momo finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Momo is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.