End Of An Era - MLB The Show 25 Will Not Appear On Game Pass

In 2025, MLB The Show is celebrating its monumental 20th anniversary, a milestone that honors two decades of baseball history, innovation, and unforgettable memories for baseball fans around the world. To mark this special occasion for San Diego Studio and PlayStation Studios, MLB The Show 25 proudly features not one, nor two, but three cover athletes for the first time ever — Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, and Gunnar Henderson. These rising stars join a rich history of legendary cover athletes, symbolizing the future of baseball as we celebrate 20 incredible years of the franchise.

We are also thrilled to announce that MLB The Show 25 will launch on March 18, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. The game will not be on platform subscription services in 2025. Early Access begins on March 14, for anyone who purchases the Digital Deluxe Edition.

Mark your calendars for a first look at our first Gameplay Trailer, which will be revealed on February 4 at 9:00 AM PST on San Diego Studio and MLB The Show social channels.

Look forward to even more weekly feature reveals, including Feature Trailer Deep Dives featuring MLB Network host Robert Flores, and the return of Feature Premieres from the development team at San Diego Studio.

Good! Now nobody has to give Sony a dime.

I'd give it a few months and it will be back. They saw huge jump in engagement on GP, which I suspect they'll miss when the game launches.

@girlusocrazy: Huh? It's NOT on Gamepass.

Yeah, it’ll be there eventually again.

Engagement doesn't always equal $. Sure Xbox cut a check, but the dev knows how many people got on their game and spent little to no money. If anything, it won't appear on Game Pass until the post season or later, like what we see with Madden.

@elderlord99: If it was on Game Pass, then Xbox players would be giving Sony money, but now it's not so they don't have to.

And nothing of value was lost. Sorry, but I don't like Baseball at all!

@Antwan3K: if Sony game is on game pass then Sony gets Xbox money by default

If Sony game is not on Game Pass then Sony gets no money from that.

@girlusocrazy:

Wait a min. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since MLB was the publisher for the Xbox version(and I assume Switch too)Sony didn't get game pass money?

is MLB The Show 25 still a PlayStation Studios title?.. if so, Sony is getting paid regardless from the retail sales..

@Antwan3K: It's possible

@PSP107: Did MLB do the development?

how would Sony NOT get paid from a game published by Sony Interactive Entertainment?.. 🤔

honest question, maybe i'm just missing something..

@Antwan3K: If people who pay for Game Pass would suddenly not have their money go to the game

Wouldn't Sony get more money if it was on Game Pass?

i'm not privy to whatever deal Sony made for MLB The Show on Game Pass..

but Sony will get paid from retail sales, no?..

This board LOVES to misrepresent MLB The Show on Xbox.


SIE is the publisher of the game on PlayStation. MLB is listed as the publisher on Xbox. Meaning, the money that comes from the Xbox sales/deals goes to the MLB, not SIE. We've known this from day one, and yet here we are...

@Antwan3K: I dunno but who cares, point is no Xbox money is going to their coffers. If they shot themselves in the foot with a decision to get less money on purpose then that's on them.

@ghostofgolden: The dev doesn't get paid for making the Xbox version? I thought Sony owned San Diego Studio.

They get paid for developing the game. There's a contract there between the developer and the license holder, the MLB. The MLB came to them years ago and renegotiated the contract, demanding the ability to sell the game on multiple platforms, or they would shop the license. They struck a new deal at that time. We don't know the specifics, but if the MLB is named the publisher of the game on Xbox and Nintendo, they are the ones getting paid for sales/deals on those platforms

@ghostofgolden: Ok, I guess since we don't know all the details, we could still guess that if there is any change at all, then Sony would be getting less money from Xbox gamers through Game Pass for MLB The Show 25.

@girlusocrazy: if MLB is the dev and publisher on platforms other than PlayStation, then i guess Sony doesn't get paid for retail sales or any Game Pass deals..

that said, it looks like Sony wasn't going to get money from MLB the Show regardless of this news.. 🤷‍♂️

@Antwan3K: That's the upshot

I might pick it up, there goes my Madden 26 money. At least MLB lets you save at any point, something other sports games need to also do.

@ghostofgolden: "In 2025, MLB The Show is celebrating its monumental 20th anniversary, a milestone that honors two decades of baseball history, innovation, and unforgettable memories for baseball fans around the world."

Thanks for the laughs as that's comedy Gold 🤣🤣🤣

@ghostofgolden:

Thank you for confirming my theory.

But my question is. The micro transactions sells from the Xbox/Nintendo versions, do you have any clue how is the profit split(if any) from that pie?